The Gin GardenMuseum of Contemporary Art
140 George St
The Rocks, Sydney
Pop up bars are becoming more and popular so when we heard about the Gin Garden, a pop up bar in the outdoor terrace of Sydney’s famous Museum of Contemporary Art, we knew we just had to visit. Lucky for us, we were invited to attend the Gin Garden’s opening night.
The MCA is famously located at The Rocks, right on the Harbour’s shore, with some breathtaking views of the Opera House and Sydney skyline. It has a café and a few private function rooms upstairs, but the pop up Gin Garden is located downstairs, on the ground floor in the outdoor terrace.The launch of the Gin Garden, the Museum’s first ever pop up bar coincides with the launch of MCA’s Sydney International Art Series exhibition Grayson Perry: My Pretty Little Art Career – the first major survey in the Southern hemisphere of the works of one of Britain’s most acclaimed contemporary artists. It’s well worth a visit if you enjoy contemporary art and the Gin Garden is a perfect place to have an after drink.
We arrived early on a weeknight and we can tell you, this place was going off. An elegant shady oasis with flora lined walls, this Grayson Perry themed pop up bar screams British pomp. The DJ was camouflaged behind a stylish gramophone and was pumping out some groovy tunes.
We started off with a gin cocktail (of course) a refreshing summer breeze with lime juice and gin from the artisan Sydney distillery Archie Rose. It’s a perfect summer cocktail and very refreshing. We were very impressed with the smoothness of the gin so much that when we went back to the bar, we asked for the same cocktail again, which the bartenders happily made, to order.
Whilst we were waiting for our beautiful cocktails to be made, trays of hors d'oeuvres were being served. We tried some very interesting smashed peas and feta crackers and bite size duck eggs with smoked trout. We also saw some Oysters being served but we weren’t quick enough for that tray Unlike the Archie Rose artisan Gin, these mouth watering hors d'oeuvres were only available for the opening and aren’t part of the usual menu (unfortunately).
The Gin Garden is open from December to early February Thursdays to Sundays, 4pm to late. It’s a wonderful spot to enjoy a post-exhibition tipple, have a great conversation about contemporary art and make the most of Sydney’s balmy summer evenings. Be sure to check it out.The Counts, who review for Sir and Mlady Dine Out, were guests of the MCA.
