IN THE MEDIA

Sydney's Mardi Gras is back and from 16th February until 1st March, and a colourful lineup of events will take place across some of Sydney’s best party venues, each with a program packed full of entertainment.

This Valentine’s Day, Opera Bar is turning up the cheese for Opera Bar’s Day of Love! Get ready for a fun-filled evening hosted by two playful Cupids, with live tunes from the energetic Hot Potato Band playing their take on classic love songs.

Chicken wings, fries, Budweiser beer buckets, Kendrick Lamar and the Philadelphia Eagles vs Kansas City Chiefs - here are the best venues in Sydney to soak up the Super Bowl action - Live & LOUD!

It’s time to welcome the Year of the Snake, and Sydney’s Opera Bar and House Canteen are the places to be this Lunar New Year, with special menus, colourful cocktails, and dazzling lion dance performances, that will make these harbourside hotspots the place to celebrate and soak up the Lunar spirit.

Family-owned hospitality operator Solotel is pleased to announce Sydney’s much-loved Cafe Freda’s, will live on as Bar Freda’s, with the group partnering with Freda’s owners Dave Abram and Carla Uriarte to transform the Lil Sis space at The Abercrombie in Chippendale.  

Solotel Group has been appointed by the Receivers of Public Lifestyle Management Pty Ltd (Receivers and Managers Appointed), to manage the operations across four of its venues. The venues include The Norfolk in Redfern, Oxford House in Paddington, The Strand Hotel in Darlinghurst and Camelia Grove Hotel in Alexandria.

Culinary great Damien Pignolet is returning to his old stomping ground in Rozelle to partner up with his protégé for one-night only at charming and relaxed French neighbourhood bistro, Chez Blue.  

Rosé is the perfect spring drink and this October it’s turning all three levels of Barangaroo House pink. Rosé Rising is a free to attend, month-long ode to rosé in all its forms with each level of the House serving custom rosé-themed drinks and food.

Woollahra’s Chiswick restaurant is hosting a series of pre-theatre harbourside dinners this August. The Chiswick x Opera Bar Pre-Theatre Experience brings a taste of the planted-to-plated Chiswick magic to Opera Bar for the first time and showcases some of the restaurant’s most popular dishes.

Martini lovers are in for a treat this spring with the launch of Barangaroo House of Martinis – a month-long celebration of martinis across all three levels of the House, 1 – 30 September.

Iconic Sydney venue, The Abercrombie, is launching HARDWIRE: an immersive and hard-hitting full venue party focused on nonstop energy every Friday from 23 August.

Rose-coloured glasses at the ready - Sydney’s harbourside Opera Bar is set to transform into a rosé utopia with the 2024 return of the Rosé All Day Festival from 6 – 15 September.

Solotel are thilled to announce thrilled to announce the appointment of renowned Sydney chef and restaurateur, Hamish Ingham, as its group executive chef. Ingham brings more than 33 years of industry experience to the role, including most recently as owner and executive chef of Redbird Chinese in Redfern and Tequila Daisy in Barangaroo. 

KX Sports Bar is your new favourite local hangout featuring big screens throughout the venue, private booths with their own TV screen, pool tables, and an unbeatable atmosphere. There’s a wide range of sports on the screens from 10 am until late every day. 

Come in spinner! Solotel’s venues are proud to honour our service men and women and host two-up on ANZAC Day, Thursday 25 April. All venues will also help to raise funds for Legacy Australia which support the partners and children of those who gave their lives or their health in service for our country.
 

To mark International Women’s Day 2024, Solotel is hosting two events highlighting the incredible female talent within the business at Lil Sis at Abercrombie in Chippendale, and at Public House Petersham.

Recognising the diverse queer community and self expression across 7 key venues during Mardi Gras. Our future, your local. Almost 50 events feat. Heaps Gay, Girlthing, Honcho Disko, Show us Ya Tips, Empire Girls, Dykes on Bikes, Ballroom Community + more. Sunday 18 February - Sunday 3 March, 2024

Whether you're seeking the glittering skyline from our rooftop bars, the enchanting ambiance of our pub courtyards, the rhythm of karaoke, or the convenience of the Sydney CBD, we've curated Solotle's best Christmas party venues for you to celebrate the festive season.

Looking for the perfect spot to catch up with mates and celebrate this summer? Solotel's rooftop bars and beer gardens in Sydney provide the perfect backdrop to good times.

Get off the sofa and limber up because the World Bar is making a comeback. The Sydney icon will take over another local nightlife institution, Kings Cross Hotel, on Saturday, November 18 for a one-night-only party almost five years to the day since it closed.

Erskineville’s much-loved local, The Erko, is overhauling its pub menu with former Chiswick chef Ethan Robinson at the helm. When the new menu launches on 12 October, expect many familiar pub favourites with a solid focus on making as much as possible in-house using locally sourced seasonal produce, including from the neighbouring community garden.

Take a trip down memory lane with an immersive new cocktail experience at waterfront rooftop cocktail bar, Smoke at Barangaroo House.

Solotel is thrilled to announce the appointment of its first ever Food & Beverage Director, Joshua Hillary (ex Duxton Hospitality Services; Rockpool Dining Group). Hillary, who officially starts mid-October, is tasked with leading a sharp new focus on service, food, and drink across Solotel’s portfolio of 26 pubs, bars, and restaurants.

Chez Blue, a charming and relaxed neighbourhood French bistro, is set to open in the heart of Rozelle on Thursday 16 November. Former Bistro Moncur head chef, Mark Williamson, leads the kitchen with plenty of favourite French classics planned as well as a few riffs.

Solotel will be opening a neighbourhood French bistro next door to The Sackville Hotel in Rozelle, a community that Solotel has been a part of since 1999. The yet-to-be-named venue, which opens in October, will have a separate entrance and will bring back fond memories of dining on the streets of Paris, with warm service and an authentic French approach to relaxed dining.

Last week, the Fair Work Commission announced a 5.75 per cent increase to Australia’s award and minimum rates of pay from 1 July 2023. Family-owned hospitality operator, Solotel, has announced that it will also extend the 5.75 per cent wage rise to its staff.

Beer lovers, be ready for a deal to make May a little sweeter! Young Henrys, the beloved Newtown brewery and distillery, have teamed up with Solotel to raise funds for Farmers For Climate Action, in collaboration with climate change activists and powerhouse, Groundswell Giving, brewing up drinks specials during May at participating Solotel venues.

Six of Solotel's star sommeliers have spent the past nine months working closely with some of Australia’s best boutique wineries to release an exclusive range of limited-edition wines. From 2 May, Lot X wines are available at Solotel venues including Aria, Chiswick, Chophouse, North Bondi Fish, and Opera Bar as well as five of Solotel’s bottle shops.

One of Melbourne’s favourite listening bars is taking up residence in Sydney each Wednesday night in May. Brunswick East’s Waxflower Bar and Rekōdo Restaurant and Vinyl Bar at Barangaroo House come together in a collaboration of sound, taste, and experience. Expect Waxflower’s very own resident vinyl DJs playing, natural and minimal intervention wines, banging cocktails, and Japanese-inspired bites at this residency with vibe.

Opera Bar is dedicating four days to all things margs - even boozy soft serve margs - from Thursday 23 until Sunday 26 March. The Marg Fest menu features four delicious margy flavours, including frozen and soft-serve options. Plus enjoy a special food menu, roving entertainment, a glitter squad, and live DJ beats.

Solotel is partnering with some of Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ tastemakers to curate the inclusive and diverse styling, entertainment, and music programming across its flagship Sydney WorldPride venues. Each tastemaker focuses on a particular Solotel venue that they already have an affinity with ensuring it has a unique flair that resonates with its local queer community. These venues are set to come alive over the 17-day extravaganza.

Multi-level party palace, The Abercrombie, is now home to three wildly unique yet complementary experiences. For the first time, the Abercrombie’s top floor and hidden rooftop is open to the public as Casa Rosa, the playful late-night Italo-disco cocktail lounge with rooftop terrazza inspired by a NYC icon. In the Abercrombie’s adjoining terraces, Lil Sis, is the neighbourhood wine bar and shop with an ex-Monopole sommelier curating the wines.

Returning bigger and better, the multi-level heritage-listed space has undergone an incredible transformation with three venues now under the one roof to create one big party palace. On ground floor is the Abercrombie’s incredible performance and club space, public bar, and beer garden. Upstairs is Casa Rosa, a playful, late-night Italo-disco cocktail lounge and rooftop terrazza with DJs. Lil Sis is in the adjoining terraces - an aperitivo wine bar and shop.

Family-owned hospitality group Solotel is proud to announce its collaboration with Sydney WorldPride 2023 as the exclusive hospitality partner. Kings Cross Hotel; The Bank, Marly, and Courty in Newtown; The Clock and Goros in Surry Hills; Darlo Bar, Darlinghurst; the soon-to-open Abercrombie in Chippendale; Paddo Inn, Paddington; Barangaroo House; and Opera Bar are the official venues of Sydney WorldPride and set to come alive with spectacular glitz, colour, culture, and fun for all.

The Opera House is excited to welcome House Canteen to its line-up of popular bars and restaurants from Thursday 13 October. Currently trading as Opera Kitchen, the eatery located next door to its iconic neighbour Opera Bar, will relaunch under Matt Moran and hospitality group Solotel as an all-day, canteen-inspired dining venue with show-stopping views of Sydney Harbour.

Barangaroo House is set to get a little louder when Rekōdo restaurant and vinyl bar joins the house mix on level one, Friday 16 September. A nod to Japanese listening rooms, Rekōdo (Japanese for ‘record’) blurs the line between food, drink and music to create an immersive restaurant and vinyl bar with a Japanese bent. 

Hospitality operator Solotel will fast-track the Fair Work Commission’s minimum wage increase to begin 4 July, almost three months earlier than the 1 October requirement. This will increase pay for staff employed across Solotel’s 25 pubs, bars, and restaurants.
 

Hospitality operator Solotel is turning the longest night of the year – winter solstice on 21 June – into a week-long after-dark celebration with music, light and art experiences across 17 pubs and bars in Sydney. Vibrant and diverse, The Longest Night program features more than 200 artists and collaborators ranging from music headliners Set Mo, Lotic (Germany), and Yolanda Be Cool to pop-up art installations by the National Art School, Queer Screen film screenings to incredible full venue light and projection installations.

Come in spinner! ANZAC Day commemorations are back to full scale in 2022 and bigger than ever as two-up can legally be played each day of the ANZAC Day long weekend. Solotel’s venues are proud to honour our service men and women and host two-up across the below venues. All venues will also help to raise funds for Legacy Australia which support the partners and children of those who gave their lives or their health in service for our country.
 

Solotel Group is raising a glass to help flood relief efforts. Until Sunday 10 April, Solotel will donate $1 from the sale of every schooner and pint of VB, Carlton Draught, Great Northern, Balter, 4 Pines, Peroni, Bulmers cider and many more to the Red Cross Flood Appeal.

Sydney Cocktail Festival returns to the iconic Opera Bar this month, celebrating our city’s great small bars, the incredible cocktails they create, and the talented people who make them. Bartenders from 13 of Sydney’s most innovative cocktail bars - including Re, Maybe Sammy, PS40, and Double Deuce Lounge - are set to shake and stir 26 different cocktails recipes over two days, Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 March. 

The glitter guns are ready as Solotel Group goes into maximum party mode this Mardi Gras. Queens Cross Hotel (normally Kings Cross Hotel), Bank Hotel, and Darlo Bar are the best spots to party in the Cross, Newtown, Darlinghurst, and Surry Hills. Here’s what’s happening…

Solotel, Australia’s most diverse hospitality group, is celebrating what is set to be one of Sydney’s most iconic comebacks of all time with a huge line-up of experiences, events and late-night parties that Sydney has missed oh so much. ‘Back Together, Now We Dance!’ officially launches today and the full programme can be found at https://www.solotel.com.au/summer

We are pleased to announce that Solotel Group has purchased the Carousel Inn at Rooty Hill. This is an important growth step for the Group – as we leap into the North West of Sydney and expand our diverse set of pubs, bars and restaurants.

Mark your calendars… Sydney’s free 24 Hour Party has a brand new date – Saturday 3 July – and a raft of incredible new acts in the line up. Solotel Group is thrilled to announce that indie-pop Northern Beaches band Lime Cordiale (DJ set), electronic house dance duo The Aston Shuffle, club DJ Toni Yotzi, and several others join original line up’s singer songwriter headliners Hayley Mary, Banoffee, and 80+ other incredible act

Newtown has a banging new middle eastern-inspired eatery and cocktail haunt, Avi’s Kantini, opening Thursday 6 May. You’ll find Avi’s Kantini inside The Bank – home of well-known live music venue, Waywards and dedicated craft beer bar, Uncle Hops. So, expect it to be loud, loose and a lot of fun.
 

Sydney is getting a free 24 Hour Party with more than 80 of the country’s best DJ and live acts performing across 12 of the city’s venues throughout Saturday 15 May and the early hours of Sunday 16 May. 

From Monday 29 March, Sydneysiders can once again cut shapes on the d-floor and dance to live music at their favourite pubs and bars.
Solotel Group is thrilled to announce it will host Sydney’s first dancefloor post restrictions easing – as the clock strikes 12.01am on Monday morning and the NSW Government updates come into action, nightlife icon Kings Cross Hotel cranks the tunes and the dancefloor is ON until late.
 

Opera Kitchen reopens as a vibrant market food hall  Matt Moran and Solotel Group are thrilled to announce the reopening of the Sydney Opera House’s dining venue Opera Kitchen as a vibrant market food hall destination on Wednesday 24 March 2021. The venue reopens with an Italian-influenced bakery and pasta bar, as well as a Japanese-influenced kitchen serving ramen and poke bowls until late.

After a public tender process, Solotel Group has been appointed as the new operator of the Sydney Opera House dining venue Opera Kitchen for a 12-month term.  

Solotel Group is turning up the dial on this year’s Mardi Gras to make 2021 one of its best celebrations ever. Kings Cross Hotel, Bank Hotel, Clock Hotel, Darlo Bar, Marly, and Paddo Inn are all set to be the places to party in the Cross, Newtown, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, and Paddington. 

After more than 20 years at Solotel, Justine has decided to pursue other opportunities for her career however will continue as an advisor for the Solotel Board. As CEO, Elliot will be responsible for the group’s 25 pubs, bars and restaurants which include The Golden Sheaf, Opera Bar, Barangaroo House, Goros, Paddo Inn, Darlo Bar and Chiswick Woollahra. 

Vacays to Italy may be off the cards but you can still get your Italiano fix at Barangaroo House this summer. From 21 January through to 28 February, the first-ever secretive Campari Aperitivo Window opens at rooftop Smoke Bar.

St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and Solotel have completed the sale of the Green Park Hotel to the Trustees of St Vincent’s Hospital to use for hospital related patient care, training and research endeavours.

Annette Lacey, Solotel Group Beverage Manager, has joined the prestigious international Masters of Wine (MW) community after completing the globally-renowned exam at the Institute of Masters of Wine.

As the finish line for 2020 gets closer, the reasons to celebrate grow bigger. Ditch the sad ‘virtual drinks’ and gather your gang to hang out in real life at some of Sydney’s best pubs and eateries which are turning on the festive spirit this Christmas.

After seven fabulous years at Art Gallery of New South Wales, Chiswick at the Gallery will be serving its final guests in January 2021 with a new collaboration between AGNSW and Matt Moran set to begin.

Sydney’s iconic Opera Bar, in collaboration with Bacardi Martini Australia, is set to host the inaugural Sydney Cocktail Festival – a three-day harbourside celebration of our city’s great small bars, the incredible cocktails they create, and the talented people who make them.

Kings Cross Hotel and Bacardi are set to transform the level six rooftop into Tupu’s Tiki Rooftop Rumshack from 16 October to 28 November. Step into a lush tiki escape (minus the passport) to find an array of classic and twisted Bacardi tiki cocktails.

After 20 years in Surry Hills, IL BARETTO will reopen at the back of the Paddo Inn, in the former dining room space, from Friday 9 October.

Solotel Group welcomes the NSW Government’s 24-hour Economy Strategy for Greater Sydney.

Australia’s iconic harbourfront bar has a revamped, local menu and is taking bookings for the first time. Matt Moran and Solotel welcome Sydneysiders back to Opera Bar from Thursday 10 September, just in time for spring.

Matt Moran and Solotel Group are thrilled to reopen Sydney waterfront venue Barangaroo House just in time for spring. Ground floor House Bar opens its doors on 31 August, before BEA restaurant and Smoke rooftop bar on 2 September. 

The news follows the NSW Government announcement last Friday which eased COVID-19 restrictions and allowed for pubs, bars and restaurants to open with a maximum capacity of 50 persons from Monday 1 June.

Today Chiswick announces the launch of its at home menu, bringing much-loved favourites plus some fresh takes on classics to home dining rooms across Sydney, arriving just in time for Mother’s Day.

Chophouse Parramatta to close on 21 December 2019.