Will & Toby's Taylor Square - Sydney |
Monday, 14 May 2007 |
Every city craves what it ain’t got. In Sydney, where much salt-crusted
fun can be had during the day, the nightlife is a little wanting. Met a
Sydney-sider lately? Yeah, we’re sure you’ve heard the lament. Sure
there are clubs. And pubs. But as far as sophisticated establishments
go, where one will happily pay handsomely for a drink in the knowledge
that a percentage of said drink goes toward paying for the ambiance and
the privilege of flattering lighting, well the options are thin on the
ground.
So no big surprise that the latest drinking hole to hit the Emerald
City has attracted A-list buzz. Will and Toby's Taylor Square on the
notorious Oxford Street strip can be best described as a gentleman’s
club, very much derivative of the bars in London’s Mayfair and New
York’s Upper East Side…and the late night venues that
Melbourne does so well. The interior is positively dapper – parquetry
floors, black chesterfields that extend for five metres (!), art-deco
flourishes and a spectacular baroque-esque fresco in the stairwell.
Fittingly, the first floor - The Supper Club – is a late-night jazz and
cabaret venue that can seat 250 guests, run by Sydney jazz stalwart
Paul Misbrener. Upstairs is the Club Lounge – the kind of place that
makes you want to drink your Martini’s very very dry. It features luxe
leather couches and perfect lighting, and a cute smokers balcony,
overlooking Taylor Square. It’s also one of the few places in town
where a corporate type in good suiting can get something to eat after
10pm at night. Oysters, club sandwiches etc are available until 1am.
This establishment is a very long time coming. Brothers Will and Toby
Osmond – who pushed Sydney’s rather conservative dining and drinking
parameters several years ago when they launched their original
late-night bar/eatery up the road – have been working on the project
for four years. Sydney, however, has been waiting forever for a
grown-up place where you can actually dress-up in finery, get a feed at
an unconventional hour and not feel like you’re the oldest person in
the room because you just want to be able to go out for once without
sitting in a beer-drenched couch.
Will and Toby's Taylor Square is located in the Oxford Hotel, 134
Oxford St, Darlinghurst. The Supper Club trades Thursday to Sunday, 7pm
to 3am, the Club Lounge is open 7 nights from 5pm. By Sarah W
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