Australiana Is on the Menu at This Darling Harbour Rooftop Bar
The days of the cultural cringe are long over. Once we looked anywhere but Australia for inspiration – now, our creative bar teams and chefs happily turn inwards, rediscovering the beauty of native ingredients and celebrating classic Australiana. You only have to look at Sydney’s recently revamped rooftop bar Above 319 to see it in practice.
Sitting atop Darling Harbour’s Vibe Hotel, Above 319 is the place for locals and visitors who are looking for a drink or snack with a backdrop of the Sydney skyline. According to food and beverage supervisor Riccardo Zito, none of that has changed with the recent menu refresh. “The bar’s been open for five years – customers already know us and our venue looks amazing,” he says. “The new [menu] is just refreshing and renewing and using more locally made products.”
What has changed is Above 319’s cocktail menu. Alongside a fresh set of Australiana-themed snacks, Zito and his team have been busily researching and developing drinks that incorporate native ingredients. Lemon myrtle, finger lime and Davidson’s plum are sourced with the help of the kitchen team’s connection to local and national suppliers. Take the Bloody Rozella, which highlights the flavours of our naturalised rosella, also known as wild hibiscus.
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“We were thinking about rosella jam, a very good product from Queensland,” Zito says. “It’s a bit citrusy, fruity and acidic. We balance that with a spiced rum from Queensland, a bit of honey to add sweetness, rhubarb and rhubarb liqueur to balance all the flavours together.” He then uses a technique called milk-washing to give the cocktail a silky mouthfeel, finishing with a zesty topping of finger lime pearls.
Other additions to the native-themed cocktail list include the Fresco Spritz, a mix of elderflower liqueur, gin and sparkling rosé, topped with lemon myrtle soda, and the Crimson Plum Sour, which takes its flavour profile from native Davidson’s plum. Getting this one to work took some trial and error to layer the plum-infused ingredients. “[Davidson’s plum] is not an easy plant to put in a cocktail, but in terms of taste it’s very good,” he says. “You can really feel the plum because we’re using a plum gin from Australia, plum bitters and strawberry liqueur. On top, we’re using the Davidson’s plum powder.”
While the cocktails are the heroes, Above 319 has refreshed its punchy snack menu to keep the native and Australiana motifs running. You’ll find popcorn with a saltbush seasoning, cheeseburger spring rolls amped up with Vegemite (Zito recommends pairing these with the Crimson Plum Sour), and calamari with lemon myrtle mayonnaise.
Right now, the venue is leaning into the seasonal chill – though you’re unlikely to feel it in the winter-ready SkyCube Experience, where you dine in private, heated igloos lit by fairy lights. “It looks very good from inside – you can see the sky and get the starry night feel. [The igloo] is transparent, so it makes for very good ambience.”
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Vibe Hotels.
Produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Vibe Hotels. Learn more about partner content on Broadsheet.
