Name This Bar

It’s no secret that I love dive bars like dogs like other dogs butts.
Name This Bar is high on my list of fun-​slinging, tune-​spilling party dens. I love that there’s no pretensions. I love that people come there to cut sick. And I love that the 2^nd to last time I went there a DJ was dropping bombs and there was a guy playing live sax like a madman and the last time I went there everyone was in dress-​up for some reason and two people were dressed as a power plug and a power point respectively. I never know what to expect, but it’s always gonna be gold.
Plus any place that hosts live Art Battles is A-​OK in my book. Beers’ll set you back around $ 8 for a Tiger and I think spirits are around the $ 10 mark, but hey, that’s Sydney right?

Been here a few times and it’s usually pretty low key, good music, not too crowded.
Went recently on a Saturday night, super packed and loud. The bartender made us the WORST lemon lime bitters and vodka I have ever had in Sydney. Luckily I accidentally spilled in on the floor.
Used to be a cool little gem but maybe too many people have discovered it.

Once Unilocal gets super established in Australia, I shouldn’t have a problem on my next visit, but there’s so many bars in Sydney that need to be reviewed to make an «educated» decision on where to go. (At least for visitors that is.)
This leads to the dilemma boyfriend and I had on our visit to Sydney. Aimlessly wandering around one night looking for a watering hole, we came across this space and stopped dead in our tracks.
It’s gets you hook, line and sinker with a huge blacklight wall filled with graffiti and art. We couldn’t help to be mesmerized by it and waltz right in.
What an eclectic mix of well, um, crap that fills the bar. Everything from torn sofas to an old daybed to a vintage beat up freezer for a table. Somehow it all works though. I wouldn’t want to set foot in here in the daylight though as I’m sure it looks pretty scary then.
Anyway, we had a few beers that were reasonably priced and a potato corkscrew that was a bit soft but still not bad. It was served with sour cream and sweet chili sauce which seems to be a staple in Oz.
The crowd was a mix of all varieties and we enjoyed people watching.

It’s an excellent location and a cute idea, but somehow I’m still not convinced… I’m not sure why, but something about this place feels a little awkward and a bit contrived. I’d still suggest you give it a try, perhaps I just went on a few ‘off’ nights, but there wasn’t much energy or excitement (or people, for that matter) on the few occasions I’ve been. Personally, I’d rather be in Hunky Dory or Ching-​a-​Lings down the road, but each to their own… I’ve heard friends rave about the dumplings and the art battles do sound awesome, so it certainly shouldn’t be written off just yet.

When? was born, the owners couldn’t decide on a name. So they had a naming competition and for a while it was called Name This Bar, which I think is great! It’s now called? which is even better, if difficult to pronounce…
This place is fun, funky, comfortable and spacious and would be a great place to have a party– well designed for a good mingle. The Name This Bar concept lives on in the form of an ideas wall where you can write suggestions, although I don’t think they really intend to name it. If it aint’ broke don’t fix it right? Pleasantly packed during the live art wars and with a good variety and reasonably priced drinks, this concept is clearly working for them.

I have mixed feelings about this bar. The first time I was here I was with a friend, we were both dancing to the great house music playing until all of a sudden one of the customers, who looked like he’d been working out too much and was dressed in a suit pushed me from behind. I think somehow my dancing either annoyed him or I invaded his personal space, but when I turned around to face him, he just looked at his friend and began to laugh at me. I didn’t react, just danced somewhere else, but really felt uncomfortable by the encounter and that the bar that I thought was cool actually attracted those types of people.
My friend and I went to a different part of the dancefloor and kept dancing until we met a nicer group of people who befriended us and started dancing with us. This made me feel more at ease, but I still feel that what happened earlier on in the night left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Despite all the drama, the bar did and does have very cool drawings and illustrations on the walls.

I think of myself as creative, and inspired to do things differently, although when I look at the individuals in bespoke hand-​crafted leather shoes, sequenced belts, imported wooden framed glasses, and self designed trimmed hair cuts and matching tattoos, all with some form of recycled and re-​loved clothing, I feel normal in comparison.
The arty, non-​conformists, radicals, and too-​coolers dreamers flock to the haven of creative intellect. Either they come for the Tiger on tap, or the creative art battles, up-​and-​coming DJ’s, or maybe just the dumplings, and cocktails.
Open till around 2am, kick up and dance with your creative misconceptions, leave your insecurities at the door, and be polite to the bouncers.

Name This Bar started as a interactive game, people were encouraged to come up with a name for the bar by writing it up on the graffiti wall. The overwhelming majority voted for the bar to remain nameless, a mystical drinking hole with nothing but a question mark on its sign.
Name This Bar is all about what the customers want; it’s a haven for the young, funky and inspired. Every second Thursday it becomes home to the art revolution of Art Battles. A competition that takes place amongst artists and unfolds live before the very eyes of the audience.
It’s fricken fun and has become a pastime at this venue.
When artists aren’t battling out, you’ll find live bands, DJ’s and jam sessions taking place. Best way to enjoy it is with a couple of friends and a pomegranate kiss. The manager recommends this one; vodka, plum liquor, some mystical ingredient I didn’t catch and pineapple juice, topped with a sugar rim.
For the nibbles the have dumplings, 3 for $ 8, sometimes there are specials.
Kick back on a couch; they’re open until 2 am Wed-​Sun, if you’re having trouble staying awake past your bedtime try an espresso martini. That should get you back on your feet again.