Margaitas make everything in life better – even when you are sitting in an impossibly stunning bar, enjoying the comfort of a soft plush pink armchair whilst overlooking the sea, Harbour Bridge and are feeling the breezy buzz of Sydney.
We arrive after pressing the entry button at Circular Quay level and the receptionist of the Pullman Hotel unlocks the door to upstairs happiness and invites us in. Hyde Hacienda is hidden inside the Pullman Hotel. We step over the World Pride rainbow welcome mat and the first thing we are greeted by are smiles and a very exciting list of Casamigos cocktails!
If you have not heard of it, Casamigos has a heart warming origin story of friendship. Longtime buddies George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman had spent a lifetime drinking Mezcal in their homes and with each other, so perhaps its not surprising they wanted to create the best-tasting, silkiest tasting Tequila and Mezcal that didn’t have to be covered up with salt or lime. They collaborated with master distiller Jalisco with hundreds of blind tastings until they gave the thumbs up and Casamigos was born!
So if you want to feel like a Hollywood celeb, then know that you are literally drinking George Clooney’s house tequila! It’s cherished the world over for its ultra-premium 100% Blue Weber agaves from the rich clay soil of the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. The agave piñas are roasted in a process that includes traditional brick ovens with a slow fermentation. Mmm now we know all this, what cocktail should I have?
We kick off with a Tommy’s Margarita which is a lip smacking blend of Casamigos Reposado Tequila, Lime Juice and Agave syrup with a ring of red coloured salt (apparently you can order the salt in all sorts of colours! who knew?).
Elotes 
Mmmm Arancini balls 
Salmon tartare
The menu which is perfect for pairing with tequila. Anyone who loves traditional thai prawn crackers (not the bland oily Chinese ones) will be in for a treat. These babies are sails of super crunchy, thick cassava chips! They are paired with a salmon ceviche of avocado and lime topped with coriander leaves. Scoop, drop and savour. Six perfect crunchy orbs of arancini are topped with pecorino. They can be eaten whole, leaving you looking like a full checked hamster but better in two bites as we are able to scoop up the lovely rocket pesto dressing.
Spend any time in Mexico and the streets are filled with vendors cooking over charcoal. Elotes is a national favourite (and mine). Put simply it is corn on the cob charred on the grill, then slathered in a spicy and creamy chilli, garlic and Cotija cheese sauce. Here it is more refined, with Manchego.
Next cocktail is the ‘Casamigos Paloma’ with Casamigos Reposado Tequila, Lime Juice, Ruby Grapefruit Juice and Soda Water. My dining partner is coeliac and the staff are amazing at helping us navigate the menu. We opt for a stunning seafood platter which pairs perfectly with the grapefruit in the cocktail. The prawns have all been deshelled (apart from their heads!), and it’s a plate of summer with a poached crab salad, spanner crab legs, tuna sashimi, scallops and more.
The popup isn’t around forever, with Casamigos ‘popping off’ on the 5th of March, which is plenty of time to tastie test all four of the new cocktail range. So bring a pal, kick back on a sofa, celebrate World Pride, the month of the Margarita and do it all knowing you are enjoying a little slice of Hollywood glamour in Sydney.
Hyde HaciendaLevel 3, 61 Macquarie St, Sydney 2000, Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour Hotel
Hours: Mon & Tues: 3pm til 10pm, Wed & Thurs: 3pm til 11pm, Friday: 3pm til 12am,Saturday: 12pm – 12am, Sunday: 12pm til 10pm
