Now that my gay wingman has abandoned me by moving to Melbourne I find myself flying solo at the Martin Place Bar to soothe my lonely soul. It took me ten years to train the GW and the thought of embarking on a new recruitment drive has driven me to drink – which explains the Luxury Caipiroska chilling my hand.

I’m not sure about the name but I do love the cocktail. Made with Grey Goose vodka served in a short glass with shaved ice and a circular lime wedge perched on the rim, this is the best caipiroska I’ve had in recent memory (although my memory has got a few alcoholic holes in it).

The décor here makes me think of Maxwell Smart’s apartment from Get Smart thanks to its funky retro look – although the marble bar adds some gravitas. A new addition is the spirit bar that’s at one end of the room, although tonight it’s been taken over by a private party. I wander up to it in the hope a glamorous female exec inside will see me, swoon for my caipiroska manliness and demand that I join the party so I can woo her while testing the spirit bar but alas that doesn’t happen. Go figure.

Instead I head past the DJ who’s spinning dance tracks and into the courtyard, where giant posters of Aussie icons such as Kerry Packer, Rupert Murdoch and Elle McPherson are printed along with a memorable quote from each. Unfortunately, however, I don’t find any new GWs or executive women out the back who fill my exhaustive criteria (a sturdy liver, an ability to laugh at bad jokes and … actually, that’s about it.)

As such I find myself popping in the next week during the day to consult the thoughtful wisdom of the courtyard sages and order a burger for lunch. Covered in melted cheese, slivers of beetroot, lettuce and tomato and served with shoestring fries, this is huge and has a great juicy flavour – it’s a bit like an upmarket milk-bar burger on steroids.

The service is as friendly as last time although the atmosphere’s a little more relaxed, perhaps because of the jazz playing on the sound system. Talking of music, on Saturday nights this apparently becomes an R&B club (see Urban Agent for more info) although I’ve never been here then – aside from anything else, the GW hates R&B. And on that note, I might grab a caipiroska as I work out what to put in the classified ad for his replacement …

Martin Place Bar, 51 Martin Place, on the corner of Elizabeth Street, Sydney. Phone 9231 5575 or see the Martin Place Bar web site

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Now it’s your turn – how do you rate Martin Place bar?

Martin Place Bar - Sydney CBD, 2.7 out of 5 based on 3 ratings

 

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