Bar Hanami on Crown Street has opened in the former Bad Mama site as a 98-seat Japanese-inspired cocktail and whisky bar. Owner Adam Tremont built the bar around his 17-year personal collection and a more considered, slower style of drinking.
The venue leans into contrast from the start. Upstairs, it’s soft and open – a Sakura-style ceiling washes the room in pink, with seating spread across tables and booths that push guests to settle in rather than hover. Downstairs, it flips completely. A hidden basement “whisky dungeon,” built from an old boat and tucked behind a discreet entry, trades light for mood – tighter, darker, and designed for longer conversations over serious pours.
“For me, this was about creating a space where people can slow down and connect,” Tremont says. “Sydney has plenty of high-energy venues – this is something different.”
That shift in pace carries into the bar. The whisky list anchors everything, pulling directly from Tremont’s personal archive, including rare bottles and older expressions that aren’t often seen on lists locally.
Around that, the cocktail list takes a different route. It leans nostalgic, pulling from ‘90s references but reworking them through an Asian lens. Drinks like the Fairy Floss Tingle and Lychee Sau Wau are built to be recognisable but not basic – playful without losing structure.
“The idea was to create drinks people connect with straight away, but still give them something new,” Tremont says.
The result is a program that splits cleanly – whisky for depth, cocktails for accessibility – without either side feeling like an afterthought.
In the kitchen, Babita Jaishi leads the food offering, bringing continuity from the venue’s previous life while shifting the menu into a tighter, bar-focused format. The approach is simple: dishes that work with drinks, not against them.
The menu runs across Asian-fusion share plates, dishes include tempura nori tacos, wagyu cheeseburger spring rolls, seafood laksa xiao long bao — alongside smaller snacks.
For Tremont, the venue is less about reinvention and more about intention — taking a familiar Surry Hills footprint and turning it into something more layered. “It’s about giving people a reason to stay,” he says.
Between the upstairs dining room and the basement whisky space, Bar Hanami doesn’t try to be one thing. It just gives you options – and expects you to stick around long enough to work through them.