Food & Drink
The new ‘porno chic’ venue from the Ramblin’ Rascal team arrives as a standard bearer in the Sydney bar scene.
BLIMEY, IT’S REFRESHING to stumble into a bar on opening night and find the place firing on all cylinders: bartenders with Cheshire Cat-sized grins spitting quality banter and trading quips with a raucous crowd of future regulars; nobody fussing with improperly programmed pointof-sale terminals, counting table numbers, or recklessly adjusting the lights and music.
This isn’t just any old cocktail joint. It’s one of the most anticipated openings of the year – the second venture from Charlie Lehmann, Sebastian ‘Cosmo’ Soto and Dardan Shervashidze, the trio of troublemakers that brought us the beloved Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern (and our trophy winners for Best Bar Team in 2019). Double Deuce Lounge has followed through with the inconspicuous entrance and subterranean setting that made their debut drinking spot a runaway hit. This time, however, they’ve gone with a bit more of a concept, which they’re calling ‘’70s porno chic’.
That makes it sound a little sleazy, and it is, in a tongue-incheek way. The place looks like the dressing room of Dirk Diggler’s dreams, and the team shake and stir with slicked-back hair, in short shorts, tube socks and shirts undone one button too far. All this to a soundtrack of James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Curtis Mayfield. The list of libations comes at you inside a VHS case with a naughty front cover and a typeface that could be from the opening credits of a Tarantino flick. There’s even a bubbly pear and Calvados-based party-starter called a BabyCham, a nod to the sparkling perry responsible for getting many an underage Brit lit for the first time. Balanced by hints of nutty genmaicha tea and nuttier Manzanilla sherry, this baby makes a surprisingly sophisticated apéritif.
There are ten cocktails on the carte to choose from, and while these guys will mix you anything you want (and very well, we might add), sticking to the menu is a smart move. The Cosmopolitan makes a thrillingly convincing return to form here, given depth of flavour and pucker thanks to pomegranate, rosella and apricot. Cold-brew coffee joins forces with añejo tequila and maple in a killer creation dubbed the Discretionary, a faintly vegetal, complex caffeinated concoction that’s lifted by lemon and whey. Bullseye. Spirits are the clear focus, but ten craft tinnies and an approachable choice of minimalintervention wines curated by Newtown’s natty-loving P&V Merchants are here to play, too.
As for the ‘chic’ bit, there’s plenty of it, in both the service and the surrounds – a door host, table service, sexy crimson leather booths – which makes this a more grown-up offering than the Tav in a way, despite the cheekiness. On a quiet night, it becomes a rather intimate, civilised place to knock a few back. Whether it’s busy or not, you don’t leave the Double D feeling like it needs time to settle in or improve, and that’s no easy feat.
Do yourself a favour and take a cue from the Godfather of Soul: get up offa that thing, release the pressure and head on down.
Bridge St, Sydney 2000. Mon-Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu-Sat 4pm-2am.