Fresh from the quest at their West Village in Petersham, the Goodtime Hospitality boys have conquered their newly-acquired East Village in Darlinghurst.
Located on Palmer Street, a thoroughfare between arterial roads William and Oxford Streets, the century-old East Village is in the heart of Darlinghurst’s bohemian style and history. The days of the Kings Cross razor gangs saw the Hotel, then named the Tradesman’s Arms, known as The Bloodhouse.
James Bodel and Locky Paech, Goodtime Hospitality, bought the pub earlier this year and engaged Alexander & Co to redesign and renovate, aiming for a “contemporary urban identity infused into the bones of a historic building”.
Capitalising on the on-trend with bespoke experiential beverages and refreshed pub classics on the menu, there is a strong focus on wine in the street-level public bar including an ever-changing wine list menu board, replete with lights to indicate which tipple is ‘just right’ right now.
The wine list, compiled by general manager and former Australian Bartender of the Year Lee Potter Cavanagh, includes a collection of cellar wines by the glass, and carries into the medley of wine-based cocktails.
On the menu are classic, recognisable dishes with a modern interpretation by head chef Graham Johns, under Goodtime Hospitality executive chef Tom Kime.
Upstairs is the Athletic Club, fashioned as a “time capsule” of a gentleman’s sports club, with dark panelling, leather seats shaped in roomy booths, a poker table, and historic sporting memorabilia and television screens lining the walls. It has private bottle lockers behind the bar and champions dark spirit cocktails and boilermakers, such as the ‘Prescription’ or Bridge Road Robust Porter & English style rum
A tucked away purpose-built space is called the Red Room, and offers a wall-length television screen, seating for 10 and table service for private use sporting occasions.
In November, the final space, Terrace, will open, being a 100 m² rooftop offering one of the best views of the CBD skylines in Sydney”.
