The Opera Bar

I adore this place, because the view is very beautiful and I can feel really relaxed and inspired when I am there. You can create pleasant and romantic moments there. The service is not so fast every time, but if there are many people.. I think this is normal.

What an amazing place and what an amazing view. This place is one of the greatest i have ever been to. If you sit outsite and the harbour is in front of you…..this is the stuff that leaves you breathless!

Everyone who is visiting Sydney should definitely check out this place!!!

The view from this bar is great day or night. Sit out on the curved benches running along the quay with a drink. It doesn’t get any better than this!

Probably the best view in the city

You can't beat this place for views of Sydney Harbour - it's probably my favourite place in Sydney. Particularly amazing on a bright summer's day (which is pretty much anyday), it's a great place to have a few drinks with friends.

Though its location means it's extremely popular and hence pretty busy - there's such a large outdoor area that you'll find somewhere to congregate no matter how large your group.

While visiting Sydney on business I stayed in a hotel overlooking the bridge and the Opera house. Arriving late on Friday - jet lagged and bleary eyed - I was only half aware of what a fantastic spot I'd arrived at. Waking on Saturday and opening the bedroom curtains I was knocked out by the view and the amount of yachts and boats sailing around the bay. I walked to the harbour and sat in the Opera Bar just soaking it all in. I remember it as pricy but it's one of those places (like St Marks Square) where you're going to pay a premium for the superb location. And it's a great spot to watch the lunatics who walk across the top of the bridge! My advice would be to treat yourself to a good glass of wine then walk up to The Rocks for a grand night out in one of the pubs.

Location, location, location.

Good stuff: The view onto the Harbour and the Bridge. That's it's central, at Circular Quay, and thus a good meeting place. It's outside (when weather is good). It's large. It's popular, always busy.

Bad stuff: It's a bit expensive. It's outside (when weather is bad). It gets packed, and somehow on any night there seems to be more broken glass here than anywhere I've ever been. Not a place to relax, unless you're here in the afternoon.

I have a soft spot for this bar because they ID-ed me when I was 27… but really it is worth a visit for other reasons!
Expensive? Sure. But its the view of the century, long lean sunlit fingers find you under the awning of standing tables, all sorts wander by happily clicking their cameras, and all you can see its the shimmering harbour and the Bridge.

Great little bar right in the corner of the harbour area near the Opera House and as such named the Opera Bar.

Great view of the harbour especially at night when it is all lit up and the harbour bridge looks fantastic.

Great food and drinks to be had!

Quite simply: Just go to the Opera Bar.

It’s not perfect, but every minor flaw it has is compensated for by breathtaking beauty, and it really doesn’t have a major flaw to speak of.

Tucked away in the lower concourse shelf under the famous Sydney Opera House, this bar is basically location, location, location. And then some more location. From comfortable outdoor seating area you have the most superb view of the Opera House looming over one side, with the stunning beauty of Sydney Harbour laid out before you - including a full frontal view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. By day or night, this is a gorgeous place to be.

Of course, there are a lot of bars and restaurants in this area - some much more luxurious and some pulling many more of the beautiful set that kicks around this part of town. But most of them, whilst lovely, are pricey, and none can quite compete with the uninterrupted view. You would think, with a bar that looks like this (I implore you to check out the website link and yes it is as beautiful as the photos) that they would charge you for the pleasure, but they really don’t. Sure, the drinks are not the cheapest you will find in town but they are really quite reasonable. The food menu, whilst limited, is meant to largely cater to the quick bite in-and-out theatre crowd attending Opera House performances, so the meals are fairly simple. But for a meal in Sydney, the prices are good and the food is quite good quality.

And the icing on the Opera Bar cake is the music. In the evening times (I’m not sure if it’s every evening but certainly on weekends) you’ll be invited into a lovely ambience created by some wonderful jazz. I’m not personally a big jazz person - I don’t dislike it, but don’t own any jazzy tunes - but it suits the venue perfectly and sets the tone for a really lovely evening.

The only real downside to the Opera Bar is that it is largely reliant on the weather. The indoors/undercover part of the bar has limited space and is sheltered from the full panorama of the view. The good news is, Sydney does tend to have a fair bit of good weather! The Opera Bar also do their best to compensate by providing umbrella cover over parts of the outdoor seating, and in winter they do have outdoor heating to take the bite off the harbour breeze.

Regardless of this, I think if you are in Sydney and want to soak in the true beauty that the city has to offer with a relaxed drink for a decent price, then head down and chill out at the Opera Bar.