Union Hotel – North Sydney
The Blondie song Union City Blues goes through my head as I head up to the Union Hotel but when I walk in I find myself faced with more of a faux French vibe than Blondie’s gritty New York feel. In the large paved courtyard out the back there’s a fake Parisian street sign hanging near a fake fountain (well, there is a faucet above the fountain, so I guess it’s only half fake), and in the main bar there are prints of French posters for aperitifs. While I’m not a big fan of the French theme the overall look here is still smart, upmarket and comfortable, with a hint of art deco about the furnishings – which might explain why this is one of my friend’s locals.
The friend is an ex-work colleague who moved from Bondi to the North Shore – or as she puts it, the dark side – several months ago and as we sip on our drinks she describes the décor here as a modern take on art nouveau. Then again, she also says she’d like me to refer to her in this article as Our Lady of the North, so it’s hard to take her too seriously.
After catching up over beers and wine in the courtyard, where she tells me that her boyfriend loves coming here for the giant TV screens that are apparently perfect for watching the footy on, we then move inside for cocktails. It’s a Friday night and the crowd here is a mix of locals and office workers. I spy a cute woman across the room and tell Our Lady of the North that I’m going in for the kill, but OLOTN (aka my friend) says she’ll disown me if I do since she doesn’t want me to embarrass her in her local pub. With my romantic dreams dashed I then seek solace in a vanilla negroni while my friend, who I’ll call the anti-cupid rather than Our Lady of the North, gets a margarita.
A negroni is made from gin, Campari and sweet vermouth and is one of my favourite drinks because of its strong, bittersweet flavour. I’ve never had one with vanilla added to it and at first I actually like it – but halfway through I begin to find the vanilla overwhelming. The anti-cupid gives it a taste and immediately screws up her face. “It’s like licking granny’s mothballs!” she exclaims.
The margarita is better but nothing special, leading both of us to wonder if they used fresh lime juice to make it (although I’ve certainly had worse). However, my attention soon goes back to the cute woman who caught my eye and, taking pity on me, the anti-cupid changes her mind and says I should approach her. I summon up the courage, stand up and … the woman then leaves with her friend at the crucial moment. Sensing my loss, Our Lady of the North takes pity on me and suggests we try another bar … but that’ll be a whole other review.
Union Hotel, 271 Pacific Highway (on the corner of West Street), North Sydney. Phone 9955 5844 or see the Union Hotel website. Open Monday to Saturday, 10am to midnight, and Sunday 11am to 10pm.
Now it’s your turn – how do you rate this bar?
(3 votes, average: 2.67 out of 5)
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