With five flashy venues behind its heritage-listed facade, the newly transformed Bristol has got its Greek on with the drinks and eats.
If you’ve lived in Sydney for a certain time and are of a certain age, you probably remember “The Retro” night, held regularly at what was then The Bristol Arms on Sussex Street. Endearingly uncomplicated in its promise, it was a club that played the greatest hits of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s so punters could Vogue, Macarena and Hammertime to their hearts’ content. It was basically your cousin’s wedding held weekly, for better or for worse.
In 2020, Retro dropped its YMCA arms for the last time and the “arms” was dropped from the pub’s name when it reopened in 2024. The heritage Federation-style façade – with those classic cream, brick-red and olive tones – remains, but inside the five venues (a sports bar, a restaurant, a nightclub, a cocktail bar and a rooftop bar) have raced beyond the building’s daggy past to transform it into a glamorous, glitzy, Greek-ish entertainment megalith.
