Michelin stars usually mean white tablecloths and multi-course tasting menus. At Jude’s at Penny’s Hotel, it means someone who’s worked the floor at a UK-starred restaurant is now behind the bar, shaking cocktails in a basement under Potts Point.
This new underground lounge from Watering Hole Hotels sits right at the meeting point of Potts Point’s old-world glamour and Kings Cross’s grittier energy, and it wears that combination well. Head down the stairs and you’re met with a dimly lit, curved mirrored wall that wouldn’t look out of place at Studio 54.
Inside, the 30-seat space leans hard into texture: floor-length suede curtains, velvet lounge chairs, marble and wooden tabletops, and an illuminated art deco mirror positioned to catch the disco ball spinning from the original exposed ceiling. Early in the night, grab a seat under the fluted glass window looking up onto the street. Later, once the specially curated playlist — including the Beatles track the venue is named after — gets going, you’re more likely to be on your feet than in it.
“Great cocktails, music and an escape from the fast-paced outside world is what we all need a little bit of right now,” says licensee Tayla Holborow.
The cocktail list comes courtesy of sommelier Matthew Cridge, and it’s built around a handful of standouts. The Hey Jude pairs a lychee martini with a spicy margarita – Belvedere vodka, lychee, lemon and chilli – for something sweet up front with a lingering heat. The Smokin’ Paps is the more personal offering, named for Cridge’s grandfather: smoked wood chips are lit beneath an inverted Nick and Nora glass, which is then filled with Jack Daniel’s Honey, Sazerac Rye and orange bitters. Then there’s the Vesper Blush, a reworked take on the classic Bond martini, flash-chilled with liquid nitrogen and built on Tanqueray gin, Grey Goose vodka and the pale pink hue of Lillet Rosé.
“Every cocktail on the list draws inspiration from the past, reimagining classic flavours and familiar serves through a modern lens while retaining a sense of nostalgia,” Cridge says.
That Michelin-star billing belongs to British mixologist Danny Renwick, the one actually shaking drinks each night, who’s come off the back of stints at London’s Pergola and UK Michelin-star restaurant House of Tides.
Wine-wise, there’s a solid spread of Australian producers alongside European mainstays like Champagne, Chablis and German Riesling, bold reds out of Portugal, Spain and Italy, and a section dedicated to skin-contact styles.
Food keeps things simple: complimentary soy-glazed pepitas land on the table to start, with truffle fries, baked camembert with sourdough and hot honey, cheese plates, charcuterie boards and battered artichoke hearts with nduja aioli rounding things out. A $10 vanilla creme brulee handles dessert duties.
Jude’s is in the basement of Penny’s Hotel, 15 Bayswater Road, Potts Point, open 5pm until late from Thursday to Saturday, walk-ins only.
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