Sugar Rays
435 Cleveland St
Surry Hills, Sydney
Sugar Ray’s is Surry Hills newest resident. It’s a cool bar named after the former champion boxer and has photographs and memorabilia adorning the walls
Sugar Ray’s is on the corner of Bourke and Cleveland Streets, an area fast becoming a hub for good food and drinks. There is a huge bar in the middle with ample seating both inside and out, and a lovey window setting, perfect for people watching. We arrived one early Friday evening and found the place to be packed, with some cool live R&B music on the floor. One guy with a magical voice and his offsider delivering some serious improvised saxophone tunes.
We heard that Sugar Ray’s offers some pretty unique and delicious cocktails so we couldn’t wait to try some. We chose the The Knockout and The Belt, both delicious but also very different.
The Knockout was vodka based and had passionfruit, liquor 43, Chandon and lime. All served in a beautiful oversized coupe, accompanied by a block of dry ice which when mixed into the drink, created a mesmerising misty fog. It was strong and tasted great. No wonder they call it The Knockout! The Belt was bourbon based and had vermouth, bitters and orange twists creating a sweet and sour swirl of flavours with every sip. Although we don’t normally go for bourbon based drinks, we actually really enjoyed this one too.
Next up we had some food, which we can assure you Sugar Ray’s has a great variety of and quite delicious too, if we may add.
We started with the Capricciosa pizza and were impressed with the crispy base, fresh ingredients and just-right amount of cheese. This was a great pizza!
We then moved on to some ridiculously crispy Salt and Pepper Calamari, which we can only describe as little pieces of heaven. Perfectly crisp the outside and deliciously tender and yummy on the inside.
The Garlic and Chilli Prawns marinated in olive oil, garlic , chilli and herbs also impressed us. Fresh prawns, full of flavour and bite size, they were going down a treat as we were sipping our cocktails and enjoying the beautiful R&B tunes being played.
Our final dish, the showstopper you might say, were the Cheeseburger Sliders. These mini burgers were chock-full of beef pattie, cheese and caramelised onions. They were so good, we almost fought over who was going to have the last one.
Did we enjoy Sugar Ray’s? You bet we did. We loved the cocktails, the food and the vibe which was cool and relaxed - especially with the saxophone playing in the background. Sugar Ray’s is open Wednesday to Sunday, afternoon to late.
The Counts visited as guests of Sugar Rays.