Beta Bar - Sydney, Australia

Part of Sydney’s Hellenic Club, an association established in 1924 by the city’s Greek community, Beta Bar sits above Alpha, the modern restaurant. And while the eatery is awash in Santorini-white furnishings, the bar is deliciously saturated with confectionary hues and metallic shimmers.

Walls are brusquely stripped to reveal original brickwork and layered rendering, while doors with delicate fretwork echo the curves of the Victorian façade’s arches. A plush mint green and black carpet flows underfoot towards the bar, upon which designer Paul Papadopoulos’ arrangement of sorbet shaded furnishings play centre stage to this Grecian drama beneath clusters of brass pendant lighting. Lee Broom’s marble candlesticks and exquisite cocktail glasses with sculpted marble bases further reference the ancient isles.

Generous mezze plates deconstruct the classics, most notably the Greek salad with feta custard, olive-oil and bread-crumb dressing, plus accents of tomatoes and cucumber in a dollop of green sorbet. The cocktails offer a similar hedonistic spin.