There are many reasons to go to Cronulla. The beach. The ocean. The ambitious aspirations that you might finally become the kind of person who goes for a sunrise swim.
And now, apparently, there is a handbag full of cocktails.
Yes. A handbag. Brimming with booze. And not the tiny, impractical kind that fits one lip gloss and a credit card if you hold your breath. This one is a 1.2L handbag cocktail, with more winning energy than the NRL sharks. And, you can find it at Checho’s – the new 135-seat venue (85 inside, 50 out, for anyone strategising their table) bring top-tier Mexican to the Shire’s freshly revitalised town centre, a short stagger from the sand.
Let’s address the elephant – or rather, the handbag – in the room. These are not your average cocktails. We’re talking 1.2 litres, served in a genuine handbag-shaped vessel, purpose-built for sharing, photographing, and being carried around like an accessory you didn’t budget for. Checho’s Cronulla outpost gets five flavours on debut: Coconut Kiss, Tropical Paradise, Blue Illusion, Mojito, and the Spicy Mango Senorita for anyone who likes their celebrations with a bit of a kick. Watching someone walk past holding one is genuinely more entertaining than most forms of dinner theatre.
Somehow, there’s also entire food menu happening in the shadow of all this, and it’s not messing around either. Spiced corn ribs with manchego and tuna aguachile – ponzu, jalapenos, tajin, lime – kick things off nicely, while the $10 tacos do the real talking, with the slow-cooked beef brisket and crispy soft shell crab both fighting-worthy. Bring a bigger appetite and there’s a 280g Wagyu scotch fillet MB4+ or sticky Mexican-style pork ribs in a cola BBQ glaze, both squarely aimed at ending any indecision at the table.
Dessert keeps the momentum going rather than winding it down: dulce de leche churros, cast iron baked cookie dough that borders on a lie-down situation, and a creme brulee with a crack so good it should really come with its own fan base.
Then there’s the weekend main event – the two-hour bottomless brunch, $89 per person, pairing best-selling tacos with handbag cocktails, live DJs and enough oversized Mexican hats to leave your camera roll needing an intervention by Monday. It’s less “brunch” in the traditional sense, more a fully staged production that happens to include food. And once you’ve watched someone stroll past with what is essentially a designer handbag full of tequila, that’s genuinely hard to dispute.
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