2230 Restaurant and Bar Review

Review by Breeanna Donohoe

2230 (pronounced Twenty-Two Thirty) is situated on the main drag of Cronulla mall and is the swankiest venue in the area that’s open past midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.

The bar derives its name from the suburb’s postcode, a smart move by the owners because it appeals to the locals' rather manic loyalty for the area. If you were to ask all the men inside 2230 on a Saturday night to lift up their shirts, it wouldn’t take long to find one with a tattoo of the same postcode etched somewhere on his beautiful body.

I’ve spent a lot of time at 2230 over the past few years and I’m always guaranteed to enjoy my night there. The atmosphere is awesome, probably because everyone is jam-packed together in the one room. Yes it gets crowded, and yes it gets noisy, but that’s what I want and expect from a bar! I want to go home with a hoarse voice, and feel like I’m covered in other people’s sweat… there’s something rather primitive about it.

If you arrive late on a Friday or Saturday night you’ll get slapped with a $10 cover charge on the door. Included in the cover charge price is a voucher for a complimentary single-serve pizza from the kitchen, which makes you feel like you’ve won something you didn’t know you wanted until it was handed to you.

The live musician that plays on Saturday nights plays popular, upbeat music. He’s not so loud that you can’t hold a conversation, but he’s not so soft that you couldn’t have a little boogie to one of his songs as well. Unfortunately he gets kicked off by 11pm to make way for a DJ who is hell-bent on playing music that no one in the bar has ever heard before, or ever wants to hear again.

But aside from the DJ assaulting everyone’s ears with his mundane, poorly mixed music, 2230 has a lot of good qualities working in its favour.

The cocktail list is really creative and very reasonably priced, and they have an extensive list of both local and imported beers. If you decide that you’d like to order from the tapas menu the service is quick and the food is always delicious.

The décor is minimal, but they have a few strategically placed mirrors to make the room seem larger than it is, and a number of small lamps provide excellent mood lighting.

The 2230 dress code is pretty relaxed but that’s not to say that people aren’t dressed to impress. Hats and shorts are allowed for guys because, let’s face it, this is Cronulla and the bar would be empty if they banned snapbacks.

The patrons are generally aged between 25-35. They are the people that have grown out of Fusion Nightspot down the street, which caters to teenagers… and people looking to feel up some teenagers.

If you do stop by for a visit to 2230, I guarantee that it’ll hook you first time and you’ll be returning every weekend. Eventually the bouncers will learn your name, the bar staff will learn your drink order, and who knows, one morning you may just wake up with 2230 tattooed somewhere on your body as well.

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