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Lotus Bar

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

Intimate, cozy, yet vibrant. Or tiny, dark and often noisy enough to make your ears bleed. The Lotus Bar is part of the Merivale Group, run by that ever-grinning man-about-Sydney, Justin Hemmes, and holds much in common with other bars and clubs within his empire. The decor is slightly over-the-top (Mr Hemmes surely got a very good deal on pouffes - they're everywhere), better than average staff and just the right chemistry as most of these places are packed all the time.

The Lotus has a daunting 10-page cocktail list - it's too dark to read it in the bar, but they've considerately put it up on the website for a pre-outing ponder. If you're a cocktail novice the helpful staff will talk you through whatever takes your fancy, except that you'll probably have trouble hearing them. The service is very good, but note this is a small bar, cocktails take a little while to make, (especially when the idiot in front of you can't make up his mind), and when it's crowded you can expect to wait. This is not necessarily a bad thing as you can get chatting with whoever you're next to - it's likely you'll already have had sufficient bodily contact, albeit involuntary, to warrant an exchange of phone numbers. The crowd is mainly in their 20s and 30s, the demographic with sufficiently acute vision and hearing, and appreciation of physical intimacy with strangers to enjoy this venue properly.

Next door is the Lotus Bistro (Chef James Privett), which is worth the wait for a table by virtue of a Chef's Hat award, an accolade in common with two more Merivale restaurants: no question that this group gets it right. If only Mr Hemmes would open a venue for short-sighted, deaf old farts …
Austin Harrison, April 2008