Bars and Nightclubs
Kings Cross and Potts Point, Sydney

Bootleg Bar

175 Victoria St, Potts Point NSW
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From the outside, Bootleg Bar is an unobtrusive slip of an establishment a few minutes' walk from Kings Cross's hoo-ha bustle. Inside, the aesthetic is solacing and eye-catching - a New York-style small bar decorated with a cunning mix of industrial fittings, chalkboard panels, discreet lighting and framed photo portraits of famous rockers, hip-hoppers, mods and folk stars. It feels lived-in too. Not because it's drab but because the room's layout - bar tables and stools, followed by booth seating and a small restaurant-like section of tables and chairs in front of the kitchen - is a well-thought-out mix of accessibility and snugness.

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What To Expect @ Bootleg Bar


Review By Kelly Blake

Bootleg Bar is not as relaxed or casual as it sounds. It has quite the boutique setting, two leather booths, rustic green chairs, and black leather stools. The bar and restaurant (despite there not being much of a difference between the two) is quite cramped. While attempting to utilise most of the available space the result is ineffective; leaving narrow spaces walkways between tables and chairs touching. Same result with the bathrooms, walking down a narrow corridor with empty kegs and rusted manholes reminded me of a scene out of a horror movie. Despite the general wear andtear of the bar, it was very hygienic. I observed the bar tender polishing cutlery behind the bar and wine glasses were scrubbed with a glasses washer before being placed in the rinse cycle. Essentially while the bar may look dark and dirty, it is quite clean.

Their wine list is quite extensive, however while each bottle is being advertised as available by the glass, there are only six bottles (three red and three white) opened each day, so if you’re not looking to have an entire bottle, you are quite limited within your choices. On top of that the drink prices are overly expensive, $11.00 for a glass of wine, $9.00 for a bottled beer and $6.00 for a sparkling mineral water. There was also a large range of scotchs to choose from, in a range of years, to suit a variety of people. Similarly they had several top shelf vodkas available, Crystal Skull and Grey Goose, and the Russian Standard as the house vodka. However, if you happen to be a rum drinker, you would be out of luck here.

The staff were very friendly and welcoming and while they had an expert knowledge of their food menu, and their recommendations were excellent, for a bar that boastsitself as a wine bar, the staff needed more training in that area. Knowing the difference between a sweet white wine and a fruity white wine would be a basic start, Moscato and Sauvignon Blanc are two entirely different drinks. The food was well priced and excellently prepared, perhaps even slightly over the top. The fusilli, a mushroom pasta with truffles cooked perfectly al-dente is $25.00 and a large portion of veal lasagne was $26.00. The impression was that Bootleg Bar was trying too hard to be a chic, cultured and upper class establishment.

For a venue in such close proximity to Kings Cross Station, it has a sophisticated feel to the crowd. For example, the people stopping in are there for a $6.00 “Italian” coffee rather than the cheaper quality that could be found in the station itself. My overall recommendation would be that if you love Italian food and you don’t mind sitting so close to the table next to you that they might as well have joined you for dinner, then make a reservation, but it’s nothing worth going out of your way for.

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