Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern
60 Park Street, Sydney
In the basement on the corner of Sydney’s Park and Elizabeth streets comes this new bar from a trio of ex-Swillhouse bartenders. Owners Dardan Shervashidze, Charlie Lehmann and Sebastian Soto have all done done their time at Swillhouse, and you’ll feel the connection.
There’s no theme as such — the walls are lined with deep banquettes and looked down on by old drinking signs and other paraphernalia, but that’s about it. You could describe it as working man’s bar, true to its Sydney roots. They’re not looking overseas for inspiration, not when there’s so much drinking history in Sydney to mine. Food is limited to what Lehmann describes as “crack nuts”, whilst the drinks list centers on Australian beer and wine and a brief cocktail offering. They’re also pushing shots of cognac — a nice change from Fernet we must say — and they’ll always have a “shit tinnie” on offer, though this will change week to week.
