A legendary Kings Cross coffee shop has found new life as a tiny bar that taps into the rich tradition of aperitivo – the northern Italian ritual of pre-dinner cocktails and snacks.
For most of its near 70-year run, Piccolo Bar was one of Kings Cross’s buzziest cafés – a teensy bolthole where the area’s notoriously colourful characters would congregate till the wee hours. It was a magnet for big names in politics, arts and letters, too, including Gough Whitlam, Jeff Buckley, Judy Davis and Boy George, to name but a few.
When David Spanton heard the doors were sadly closing in 2020, he felt compelled to come to the rescue. And who better for the job, quite frankly, than the founder of Australian Bartender magazine, a guy who’s had his finger on the pulse of the country’s bar scene for the past two decades?
Just over a year, two Covid-19 lockdowns and a makeover by designer Michael Delany later, Piccolo Bar re-emerged with a freshly minted liquor licence, ready to begin a new chapter as one of Sydney’s tiniest cocktail bars. To see just how tiny is reason enough for a visit. But so, too, is the chance to see a deserving cultural landmark revived and to get the feeling Sydney’s once-booming nightlife precinct is getting its groove back.
It isn’t easy to make a new bar feel lived-in or inject it with genuine old-world charm, but such is the magic of Delany’s renovation. Blink and you could be in a local haunt in Bologna or Verona – until you study the faded newspaper clippings, vintage photos of Sydney and autographed headshots of former Piccolo patrons lining the walls. The sense of history is palpable – the ’50s rock and throwback European hits certainly help – and a respect for the past is clear.
That also rings true when it comes to the drinks, which tap into the rich tradition of aperitivo – the centuries-old northern Italian ritual of pre-dinner Spritzes, bittersweet cocktails and food to eat with your hands. It’s a focus both niche and approachable that doesn’t try too hard and isn’t afraid to be anything other than exactly what it is. Quality liquor, solid cocktails and warm bartenders who care – what else do you need?
