Button Bar

The pirate life. That’s the instantaneous vibe once your eyes adjust to the low light. The staff are stoked to see you come in and provide excellent table service. The bar staff are quick and can really pour a great cocktail. Food is not their strong point, doesn’t claim to be.
Aaarrrrrrrrrrrrr, me matey

Finally a little busy venue with a bit of warmth for thirsty commuters that walk up Foveaux St to Surry Hills.
I could become a regular if I walked by every day and I completely recommend the place !
The place looks good, little booths for groups of three or fours, tables for smaller or larger groups and stools at the bar for those with an experienced elbow lift.
That wooden vibe complemented with vintage objects and posters isn’t original anymore but it is still nice to be in!
The drinks are nice and it gets them a third star but the staff behind the bar just lacked that bit of energy both times I’ve been there to really make it to four stars.
Try it for yourself, make the detour from Crown St and enjoy the crowdy bar atmosphere on a Friday night and then judge for yourself!

Good cocktails tainted by arrogant bar staff. Such a shame Button Bar — was trying to show you off to visitors from LA and Melbourne and left completely embarrassed by such a fine example of Sydney snobbery.

Great location for pre– or post dinner drinks or relaxed date. The vodka and mandarin cocktail is my favourite. Pizza if you’re feeling hungry.

Good drinks, but not a fan of the atmosphere. Maybe because I’m a not pirate?

From the funky «touch here» door to the absolutely cool lighting, this place is a great venue. The service was pleasant and fast. Drinks were not over-​the-​top expensive by Surry Hills standards.
Would recommend to anyone. Parking can be a little bit of pain, but this place is about 200 meters from Central Train Station, so don’t bother driving it’s a Friday night.
Very cool.

Nice staff, and quick to serve. It’s a little bit of the expensive side, but that’s inner city living. I have noticed some of the comments about a pirate theme, but I guess I didn’t have my eyes open that night. Lovely cocktails and they are happy for you to just say what you want without reading a menu and deliver something tasty.

Love this bar, great fitout, staff polite and friendly. They know how to make a cocktail worth going too. Can be busy but what isn’t thats good!

Being a guy from Melbourne Living is Sydney for Work I have missed the cool little bars.
Then I finally stumbled across Button Bar. Well Done! Its about time Sydney gets a bar like this.

Another hidden gem in the growing stable of small funky and eclectic bars in Sydney.
Free pistachios wins my vote, and the funky little narrow tables in the booths are perfect — walking the plank it is!
Cocktails are great, ambiance is good. Good spot to wait for a table at Bodega!

Barnacle-​bitten land lubbers beware: If pirates, home-​made pear infused rum and barrels full of free pistachios are your thing, then you need to walk — or in my case stumble — off the plank and into Button Bar real soon!
Ship yard sleek and pirate sexy, this lovely Surry Hills small bar sure did mark the spot! Long wooden tables laden with melting candles, six-​seater booths, and bangin tunes are enough to draw you in, but it’s the $ 9.50 drinks that will keep you. The Box of Rain is a refreshing blend of their infused rum and coconut juice, while the pear drink I can’t for the life of me remember the name of, was an absolute highlight: fresh squeezed pear juice, pear rum, and sprinkled cinnamon on top. DELICIOUS.
I’ll surely sail the high-​seas of Surry for you, Button!

Pirate theme, check. Incredible cocktails, check (try the whiskey ones). Lovely staff, check. Dark and feels suitably «cool», check.
Yep, it’s love. Go here if you want fun fancy night time stuff, not if you want a VB on a hot afternoon.

Put your palm up and place it against the door. Because that’s how you’ll get into this totes-​awesome place known as Button Bar.
I remember walking by it and hearing music come out of it a few months ago but didn’t think much of it. Then I heard about it through a friend and decided, «OKAY THAT’S IT, I’M GOING!» and my gosh, I ended up going 3x in one week. Hahah!
I’m loving the booths (I really like booths) and the fact that you can probably fit about 6 people in it makes it even better. You’ll see barrels and eat pistachios and want to yell out «YAAARGH MATE!» in your best pirate accent but I think it would only be fitting.

Who doesn’t love anything pirate themed?!
If you loved Hook, if you loved Captain Sparrow you must make you way to Button Bar. The humble door opens to a dark room fitted out like a pirate ship. Complete with dark wooden fixtures, cast iron chandeliers and rigging.
Now you might be thinking «naff bars = crappy drinks». Nay. Button’s hipster staff make some mean cocktails. The Old Fashioned list is the way to go. Although I can also vouch for the smokin’ gun and a few others I no longer recall the names of. You pretty much can’t go wrong.
You may feel like your vessel (wallet) has been boarded and pillaged by the time you stumble out, but argh ‘dem pirates be huntin’ gold.

Is it fair to judge a hip bar based on a Sunday afternoon visit? I think so. It’s easy to be ‘all that’ on a heaving Friday night when pretty young things abound, but on a gloomy winter afternoon the true essence of a venue may be revealed. We found Button Bar by accident, when heading home after a pleasant afternoon spent in various Surry Hills watering holes. How we wished we’d found Button Bar first. The low lit textured wood interior created a wonderful ambience, and the leather seated booths divided by salvaged leadlight windows called for us to linger long into the night. Service was attentive but relaxed. I’m not sure how or why the pirate theme came about here, it’s very subtle, but if the bearded barman was Captain Black, our waiter was the most endearing Billy Budd. He brought water, nibbles, and a very thorough knowledge of the extremely extensive array of spirits on hand. Asked about cocktails, his answers were thoughtful, no spruiking of the barman’s favourite, but a well reasoned deduction of what might most please me. He suggested two marvellous cocktails — the Jimmy Hendricks as I’d nominated gin as my preferred spirit — Hendricks gin paired with rose water and elderflower, all floral and lovely. The other was the Salty Candy, a martini variant with a French herbal liqueur ‘Genepi’- very unusual. Try them if you like, but I’m sure young Billy Budd or his fellow crewmen will suggest something else tailored to your own tastes.
The water and pistacchio nuts kept acoming, and that sealed my first impression that there is a real generosity to this place — you feel it in the warm welcoming, in the unhurried service and sharing of knowledge, and the way the drinks are presented. Attention in small things delivers big satisfaction. Can’t wait to go back, even on a Friday night.

As I was walking up Foveaux yesterday making my way to the Warratahs v Rebels game I passed an open doorway leading down to a dimly lit cellar. Right on the corner of the Foveaux Restaurant building diaganally across the street from El Loco is a 2 day old brand new to the world small bar– called Button that is sure to be the next «IT» place in Surry Hills.
Awesome. How I love to discover a new possible haunt. The wood-​centric décor made me feel as if I was in the hull of a pirate ship with hanging lamps giving the place a soft glow and vintage ship pulley s holding small buckets of fruit above the bar. The bar wall is a pirate’s booty of assorted gins, rums, tequilas and assorted spirits.
We took our seats at the long communal high table in the center although the booths looked very inviting.
The bartender handed us a menu (cute pirate button logo) which had several pages of gin, rum and vodka cocktail specialties as well as an extensive wine list — with piraty inspried spelling. (e.g. New South Wails, Newzeland, velencia hee hee!)
As we looked at the drinks menu we were served with water and a bowl of complimentary pistachios.
I ordered the sticky candy cocktail. A classic gin martini with a slightly sweet chamomile liquor and pickled onion. My friend who was not partaking of alcoholic beverages last night ordered a mocktail with the specification that it would not have pineapple. She ended up with an apple, pear and mint cocktail served up to look like a pisco sour with a sprinkle of cinammon. Although my Sticky Candy was amazing her mocktail was equally so even without a drop of spirit. Always a sign of a good mixologist — making a mocktail than makes you forget you are missing out on the alcohol.
Now that the Sydney small bar revolution is well on it’s way I have a list of expectations for continual patronage at any small bar all of which were met by Button during our brief pre-​game respite.
These include:
Attentive service by barstaff
Complimentary snacks
Mind blowing cocktails worth the $ 14-​$ 16 price tags
Inspired barware
We would have loved to stay longer but rugby beckoned and we settled the bill. All in all a very classy small bar in Surry Hills. As the brainchild of the Pocket and Stitch small bar crew however — you wouldn’t expect any less.