Double Deuce Lounge
The Ramblin’ Rascals raise the stakes with a stinger of a follow-up that celebrates ’70s sleaze
A COCKTAIL JOINT named after a dive bar in a cult Patrick Swayze flick with a ’70s aesthetic inspired by the Golden Age of Porn. It sounds like a cockeyed concept that, in most hands, would go terribly, painfully awry. But “Cosmo” Soto, Dardan Shervashidze and Charlie Lehmann are not most hands – they’re Baxter Inn alumni, the rabble-rousers who glorified “shit tins” and shirtless overalls at the Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern and two-time winners of the Time Out Bar Award for Best Bar Team. These are the right guys for the job. Things are thoroughly cheeky at their second venture, down in a booze-stocked, retro-panelled bunker straight from Boogie Nights, with a soundtrack to match.
The crew, too, look the part – rocking bowling shirts, booty shorts, tennis socks and slick quiffs, eager to hand you a VHS case with a risqué cover that turns out to be the drinks menu. There are just ten cocktails on the tariff, all $20, and they’re designed with no-nonsense good times in mind. Lean into the theme with a thoughtfully updated Cosmopolitan, punched up with pomegranate, apricot and rosella for extra pucker. Or perhaps kick things off with a BabyCham, a fizzy number modelled after the daggy sparkling perry of the same name, bolstered by Calvados and Manzanilla sherry. A couple into the wind and you, too, will be shimmying and spelling out ‘respect’ letter by letter in time with Aretha.
Fun is the key ingredient, without a doubt, but that doesn’t mean they’ve lost sight of the fundamentals that make a good bar great: a sprightly greeting, comfy booths, even comfier stools (with cushioned backs!) and sharp-witted service that’s equally watchful. It’s an A-team-only affair, regardless of whether it’s a quiet Monday or a slammer of a Saturday night, and your request for anything off the list will be met with nothing but vim and vigour. Striking the balance between a serious cocktail bar and a bar serving serious cocktails that doesn’t take itself too seriously is no mean feat, but that’s Double Deuce Lounge in a nutshell. And that’s exactly why it’s our Best Cocktail Bar in 2020. à6 Bridge St, Sydney 2000. doubledeucelounge.com.
Mon-Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu-Sat 4pm-2am.