#loboplantation

[tigerbuckjerky]

One of Sydney's finest. #Repost @loboplantation ・・・ We made the @dailytelegraph's top 10 best cocktail bars in Sydney. And we're surrounded by some stellar company. #loboplantation #inrumwetrust

[sjondalilang]

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The rhum diaries #loboplantation #yalla #gutja #bomdia

[eatthiswearthat-blog]

Gimme some sugar...& a damn fine cocktail.

Seeking an authentic feeling small bar in Sydney's CBD with friendly service?. A question mark and a full stop both seem fit to end that sentence, as it feels like my life's mission to find a bar that captures a Melbourne small bar feeling but is Sydney through and through.

Lobo Plantation really ticked my picky boxes.

It's set neatly underground on Clarence Street and the concept is inspired by the Caribbean's last sugar Baron - Julio Lobo and his love of decadence. This is a bar themed around luxurious excess. Who wouldn't want to sip a sneaky cocktail in such surroundings?

In the context of such opulence, my statement earring choice made perfect sense. From Israeli brand Noritamy, two discs of 24 carat gold plated brass, hand dented and made exactly for sumptuously sipping cocktails, it seems. Available exclusively in Australia from Eve Adorned. Accompanied by my favourite new lip colour of the moment, Hourglass Femme Rouge Velevet Creme Lipstick in Fever (fuschia). Available at Mecca Cosmetica.

The space feels larger than it is, with cushy plantation furniture and lots of intimate seating pockets. Great latina/island style music playing at just the right volume, and some pretty approachable bar staff.

Getting down to business, the cocktail list is refreshingly unique. Beetroot Sour, Banana-man-hattan, Communist Sour and an interesting sounding pear & espresso mix up are just some of the tropically topical drinks on offer.

We go for a Jamaican Julep with Appleton VX, passionfruit, mint, lime, lychee and tea syrup topped with ginger beer.

And the Nacho Libre - Mezcal Amores, Espolon Blanco, and a housemade ginger syrup and cucumber/agave puree. Delicious on both accounts.

We try a couple of dishes to nibble on prior to our dinner engagement and found the braised beef shortrib off the bone with pumpkin flatbread to be just ok, but the vegetarian tamales with baked eggplant and cucumber and tomato salsa, excellent. Gotta also give a shoutout to the aptly named Magpie Estate 'The Mexican Dancer' Viognier we glugged down. Just beautifully fragrant and refreshing.

This is a bar for those of us who, like Julio Lobo, appreciate worldly things, strong drinks and spicy lives with a little sugar for a good measure.