What to expect when Baptist Street Rec Club opens next week

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It’s a new year, and that of course means new bar openings. And the next bar of note to open in Sydney will be Baptist Street Rec Club, which opens next week on Tuesday 4 February. It’s the latest bar to come from Sydney hospitality group, House Made Hospitality, and sits upstairs from their restaurant, Island Radio, in the recently redeveloped Wunderlich Lane precinct, where Baptist Street, Cleveland Street, and Crown Street meet on the border of Surry Hills.

The Baptist Street Rec Club is sat on the first floor of an old building which has been many things over the years, but most notoriously was last home to the Surry Hills Shopping Village, which was locally — and somewhat hyperbolically — known as Murder Mall. It’s had something of a glow up since then, with a $500 million redevelopment and redesign taking place, a boutique hotel — The Eve — set to open soon, along with the restaurant Olympus (which has had Matt Whiley working on the cocktails) opening to much acclaim, Lottie and Bar Julius from the Liquid & Larder group opening this week, and House Made Hospitality’s restaurant Island Radio opening last November.

Yesterday I spoke to Jason Williams, one of the co-owners of House Made Hospitality and its group beverage director, about what to expect from the new bar when it opens, what’s on the drinks list, and the big idea behind the new bar. He also gave us a walk through of the space, all of which you can hear on this week’s episode of Drinks At Work.

Baptist Street Rec Club is “a lo-fi neighbourhood bar play,” Jason says, with a focus on high quality drinks, music, and social connection — along with some frosty beers.

Overseeing the drinks is Dan Cramsie (ex-Double Deuce Lounge, Clam Bar), with Apollonia’s Sofie McKeever-Ford coming across to help guide things on the bar. The drinks list will feature 15 cocktails on the menu, 10 of which will be classic or modern classic cocktails that the team have tweaked slightly to put their own spin on things: think the Toreador, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, the Japanese Slipper (which is having a moment again), and the Breakfast Martini, and you’re on the right track.

”We’re not fucking with them, we’re just adding our own tiny addition,” Jason says. “How can we elevate it a little more to our taste?”

(One modern classic that isn’t getting tweaked is the Death Flip, a 2010 drink at Melbourne’s Black Pearl from Chris Hysted-Adams, which has been picked up by bartenders around the world.)

There will also be five new cocktails rotating each month, Jason says, along with three non-alcoholic cocktails.

The aesthetic of the bar itself is mining an offbeat 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s seam of nostalgia, with the aim of creating a space that is community-minded, comfortable, and encourages repeat visits each week.

To learn more about the fit out, and the unique way they’ve decked out what they’re dubbing ‘the trophy room’, give the episode a listen on your podcast player of choice.

And you can give Baptist Street Rec Club a follow on Instagram at @baptiststreetrecclub or visit baptiststreetrec.club.