This weekday bar offers a city rarity, a vast outdoor area for simultaneous drinking and baking. Sunlight, icy drinks and partying suits make this one of Sydney's flirtiest spots.
Ryan's Bar draws swarms of suits and suitettes. They're attracted to the cold beer and scorching sunlight.
Despite Sydneysiders' obsession with baking their already-bronzed bodies, the city has distinct paucity of outdoor drinking options, with the odd balcony or pavement table barely offering enough space for the smokers. Fortunately, Ryan's has filled the gap in the market, taking over a large portion of the courtyard at Australia Square and spilling out over the whole space on steamy evenings.
Summer is peak time for Ryan's, when Sydney's long season of cocktail sipping, flirting and partying is in full swing. The mobile bar and elevated TV screens come out, showing everything from the cricket to the tennis. This serves as a magnet for sports-mad men, who think up creative excuses to leave the office for a beer and check out the score. A note to the girls: it should come as no surprise that Ryan's is well-known as a hotspot for straight, single men in Sydney.
These days there's plenty to please the stomach as well as the eyes. A recent renovation has seen the bar re-emerge with a full kitchen, churning out crispy pizzas (look out for Tuesday night's three-for-$30 pizza special) and other booze-soaking nibbles.
Shelley Tustin
