Hotel bars in Sydney are a whole lot cooler than they used to be. Forget the lonely sympathetic bartender stylings of Lost in Translation; The Kirketon’s Eau De Vie is the latest to join a list of establishments proving its hip to sip in the hotel bar. And it’s not just for the out-of-town clientele either.

Tucked in the back of this chic Darlo hotel, Eau De Vie makes cocktail hour cool, with vintage-inspired décor, a bar stocked to the hilt with the good stuff and dark corners to canoodle in.

A succinct 12-cocktail list of classics and Eau De Vie signatures will still give you plenty to work through, but if what you’re after isn’t there, the skilled staff, led by Scotsman Barry Chalmers, are more than happy to accommodate. If you’re a sweet tooth, try the Hendricks Tea Party, a fragrant cucumber and rose petal gin concoction with berry-infused black tea, fresh orange and basil with a lemon twist – served in a tea-cup martini glass. The Dark and Stormy kicks ass, too.

Eau De Vie
229 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst 2010
T: (02) 9357 2470
Monday – Saturday 6pm – 1am
Sunday – 6pm – Midnight