Maybe Sammy, The Rocks, Sydney

Attention to detail is what sets this bar apart.

Venturing into Sydney’s new Maybe Sammy cocktail bar is like stepping back in time to an elegant Hollywood lounge of the 1950s where you might expect to encounter Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin or Sammy Davis Jnr himself. Owned by founders Stefano Catino and Vince Lombardo, as well as its creative director, Andrea Gualdi, the cocktail bar is billed by the trio as ‘a classic hotel bar, minus the hotel’.

I fall in love with Maybe Sammy’s Hollywood

Regency and Vegas-style interiors including an accent wall of tropical palm-leaf wallpaper above a decadent baby-pink velvet sofa.

The real star of the show, however, is the talented bar staff. As we perch ourselves at the long marble bar counter on one of the leather bar stools to be close to the action, we’re looked after by Martin Hudak, who is donned in a shirt, tie and an ice-pink linen jacket with a red pocket carnation. He has previously worked at some of the world’s most iconic hotel cocktail bars including The Savoy’s America Bar in London.

The attention to detail is what sets Maybe Sammy apart – its bespoke brass drip-tray running the whole length of the bar; the complimentary tropical

olives and roasted Dukkah nuts; the custom-made ice cubes; and the framed pictures of its namesake Sammy Davis Jnr scattered throughout.

We start with a mini cocktail served in a miniature coupe glass, small in size and suitable for sampling several styles. Here, the theatre of the performances gives us the sense we are indeed living in another era – this slow evening is to be savoured.

All the cocktails are modern interpretations of classics. I next sample the Lady Luck cocktail, with Hudak handing me a small pot of house-made potion, telling me to apply the cream to my hands, rub them together, take a deep smell and only then, sip my Lady Luck.

The bar’s food offerings mimic the same pure, clean and simple flavour ethos as the drinks list. Try the delicate paper-thin blue corn taco with salmon, avocado, corn and coriander; or the smoking gun bagel with chunky strips of Wagyu pastrami, crème fraîche and gherkins.

Save room for a sweet drink – the Irish coffee has a smooth, silky texture that’s a perfect match for the fluffy Pari Pasticceria, a world-famous ricotta-and-pear cheesecake which was apparently a favourite with Frank Sinatra.

Here, the theatre of the performance gives us the sense we are indeed living in another era – this slow

evening is to be savoured.