A fairly new edition to the cool Sydney Bar scene is Industrie. It has been around for about 6 months and is very popular with the suits. The idea is that it takes you on a South of France experience – though I am not really sure how this happens. The menu is in French and the food is French but that is really where it ends. Or maybe the service is also French. I have not been to the land of baguettes and cheese but I know that slow service comes to mind. If that is the case then they have done a bang-up job of bringing this to life! It took friends almost 20 minutes to get a bottle of wine and this was at both bars (there is one on both levels). This is really the result of people paying with credit cards and not enough staff. To combat the obvious issues caused by the plastic generation they have incorporated a “shot card” into the system which allows to you get a drink at either of the bars and this is charged back to your card. At the end of your session you simply hand in the card and are presented with your bill. Wonderful and scary all at once!!! The staff are a little harder to fix, many of who feel it is their job to swan around looking fabulous instead of actually get you a drink. The design is trés chic; combining rich textured fabrics, ornate mirrors and candles in Turkish tea glasses with the original stonework of the building. They have a couch section at the back that is a quieter spot for a catch up and also a good place to get a seat if the rest of the bar is full. The front features ottomans, which are usually snapped up by those with modeling aspirations, and upstairs is a combo of couches and table seating. They serve food all day here, though I admit that I have only indulged in the hot chips with aloli – it was very tasty and reasonable at about $7. Prices start to increase as you get more substantial but that is to be expected. If the chips are a preview of the quality then get your taste buds ready for a treat. Industrie is actually a really funky spot –as long as you can ignore the slow service and don’t expect to be magically transported out of Sydney! If you are on a budget pop in for starters before heading off to cheaper pastures, but if you are cashed up, grab a couch and vive la France!!
review by: Katie Haire