Callan Boys thought Sydney might never have a hotel bar like London or NY. Until now

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Boy, do I enjoy a good hotel bar. The best ones, such as Captain’s Bar in Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong and The Savoy’s American Bar in London, vibrate with an anything-can-happen energy fuelled by stiff drinks and people you’ll never see again. You can begin a night with peanuts and beer and end up waist-deep in champagne with Sheena Easton’s second cousin, Rob Brydon, and a German tech entrepreneur very keen for karaoke. (There’s always a German up for karaoke.)

Sydney has nothing like this. Partly, this is because the city is comparatively young, but mostly it’s because most of our hotel bars are born out of a group executive saying, “Well, I suppose we should put something in the lobby.” Terms like “sophisticated” and “carefully curated cocktails” invariably follow.

Years ago, I made peace with the reality that we’ll never have something as “timeless” as Bemelmans in New York or Dukes of Mayfair, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t have a great all-rounder hotel bar for general use. Somewhere to take a lunch meeting, read the paper over a mimosa or swing by for oysters and a martini on the way to somewhere else.

Ideally, it would be so dang likeable you might forget where you were headed in the first place. Bar Julius, which opened in Redfern’s luxury boutique hotel The Eve last January, is that place.

It’s run by Liquid and Larder, the same group that operates hatted Mexican restaurant Lottie on The Eve’s rooftop and CBD steak joints The Gidley and Bistecca. The service isn’t quite as polished as The Gidley, but staff are friendly and invested, and classic cocktail requests are met with enthusiasm and sound execution. SJB studio is responsible for the fitout, which is a beautiful space of redgum flooring, contemporary art, layered marble and warm backlights. The vaulted ceiling with artwork by Louise Olsen is worth the admission price alone (which I suppose is a $5.50 bowl of house-marinated olives).

Chef Will Francis’ menu transitions smartly from breakfast to lunch (eggs your way; buttermilk pancakes; panzanella salad with a whack of char from grilled peaches) before the evening carte kicks off at 4pm. A burger with wholegrain mustard, celeriac remoulade and Swiss cheese deviates too much from the American ideal for a place on any “best burgers” lists, but it’s tangy, juicy and deeply seasoned.

Boldly for a hotel menu, there are no fries on the list, but there is a “Fish + Chip” for snacking. This is a chip with ambitions to be the main event, triple-fried and dotted with smoked salmon taramasalata, lightly pickled eschalot and neon-orange roe. What tastes like a spritz of vinegar brings earth and surf together. It’s the most lavish chip in town. I’ve also enjoyed an extremely savoury tuna carpaccio with buttermilk dressing and oyster mushrooms, and a respectfully rendered lamb rump with salsa verde.

At lunch the other week, there were Bumble dates on a third glass, 20-somethings loading the table with pastries and matcha, and close friends celebrating a birthday with Pandora and Mecca gift bags. Bar Julius may actually be that rarest of breeds: a busy hotel bar used more by locals than guests.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.