Monday, September 5, 2011

SYDNEY MARTINI CRITIQUE - THE IVY

First stop on the Sydney Martini Tour – the pool bar at The Ivy.





DISCLAIMER: This wasn’t actually the first stop on the martini tour, it was the fourth, but these are the only pictures I have at the moment.





The Ivy is an exclusive bar and restaurant establishment in Sydney’s CBD. On the roof of The Ivy is a pool and several bars that cater to a crowd of non-exclusives who stand around trying their best to look and act like they are exclusive. We all know the type.


The member’s changing rooms are numbered with silhouettes of different sexual positions. It’s not the cleverest idea nor is it tastefully done and looking around, neither is the clientele.


They also have a basement. This is not one of the bars, but an actual basement. Most recently used (after my visit) by The Ivy’s bouncers to bound and gag an unruly patron and beat him senseless, followed by a quick clean-up of the scene by the staff maids before the police arrived.
Nothing says “Class” like a basement beating cover-up.


The pool bar is excellently decorated with large multi person sun loungers and private cabana booths in aqua blue and lemon yellow. The colour scheme is so carefully adhered to that even the cocktails match the decor.


It reminded me of The Lucy Show when Lucy worked at the bank and the drapes and carpet were the exact shade of red as her hair and the furniture always matched her outfit.




I take any opportunity to pretend I am a dead actress, so I ordered a yellow drink, which I think was called a “Martini Francaise” or something similar made using fresh pineapple, lemons and other stuff which I do not recall.



You must remember even though I said this was the first martini stop, it was actually the fourth.
The ‘martini’ was difficult to judge as previously I was comparing traditional martinis. This was a cocktail martini so it had to be judged on its own merit.


The verdict: Way to much citrus for my liking. The fresh pineapple was overpowered by the lemon juice. It gave me heartburn but it did match the decor!


This cocktail just wasn’t to my taste, however the bartender was very pleasant to talk to (and by that I mean he had big muscles and a tight shirt) and they used only fresh ingredients that were squeezed, smashed, muddled and juiced as ordered.


As for the atmosphere, once I got my cocktail and was able to lounge on a nice comfy big sun lounger and focus on having a good chat with my friends, I was in heaven.






At the end of the day, isn't that what it's all about?

2 comments:

Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly) said...

I love those louge chairs! I like lemony things, but it was too much though?
Can't wait to hear about the best one!

Hula Hank said...

About a year ago, I started to heartburn from citrus. I don't know why as it has never happened before.

The cocktail may have also had lime juice in it, and the lime & lemon mixed with the acidity from the pineapple was probably just too much. :(

The lounge chairs are bliss!!