What To Expect @ Sugar Lounge

Review By Samantha Woodhill

Sugar Lounge is every bit the 'trendy but relaxed' venue you'd expect from a bar directly across from Manly Beach. With 'tacky-chic' coloured light globes lining the bar and birds of paradise in the corner, every inch of the place is full of character, slightly reminiscent of a poolside resort bar in Bali with a fabulous view of the beach.

The waitstaff are relaxed but attentive, most of them foreign travellers, all of them 'babes'. Table service is offered if you can get a table, if you don't standing at the bar is awkward as the space around it is a thoroughfare. Plenty of bar staff and expert cocktail makers mean that time spent waiting for service at the bar is minimal.

Despite being a little out of the way, Sugar Lounge on a Friday makes for an economical night. Two drinks and two pizzas cost less than the cab ride to get there. House wines and beers are $5, the same cost as an entire Friday night pizza. The food is more substantial than just bar food but if you're not there on a Friday, expect to pay around $20 a meal.

There are big groups as well as small ones and of all ages, from surfing types to cool mums and dads, all authentically local. It's a place to go with a good group of mates, not the type of place you'd go to meet new people. By mid-evening the older crowd seemed to have cleared by the time a sudden line of young people formed outside and meals were no longer served.

The music appeals to diverse taste, from a live neo-reggae band playing intermittently to a lounge version of '90s classics. There is no risk of embarrassment showing off your epic dance moves on the DF as it's located right at the back, far from the view of passers by.

Sugar Lounge is a fantastic Friday night venue with its relaxed vibe and is a 'must try' for Sydneysiders, tourists and anyone with a tight pocket and a big appetite.

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