Sydney welcomes the reopening of the Bat & Ball Hotel on 15 August, which offers an elevated take on a classic Aussie pub, with a variety of appeals for different groups and occasions.
The venue is led by a team of five stalwarts of the Sydney hospitality scene: Dynn Szmulewicz (The Little Guy, Enmore Country Club, Sunshine Inn), Rachael Paul (Sunshine Inn) and Daniel McBride (The Little Guy, Enmore Country Club, Sunshine Inn), Zachary Godbolt (Doom Juice, Enmore Country Club) and Cameron Votano (BTB, Lowkey).
Szmulewicz said that as the Bat & Ball is larger than the team’s other venues, they were able to offer more experiences under the same roof.
“This place is so much bigger than our other venues, so it allowed us to accommodate large groups. We didn’t have to give up on anything we wanted to put in, and we could create different areas for different occasions. You can come here and have lunch with your mum and dad, or you can come with a group of friends to play some pool or watch some football,” he said.
The main bar has bar top seating and bar tables on one side, with bistro-style seating on the other. The Bat & Ball was known for its pool tables under previous management, which the current team has continued, with a pool room featuring a table, dart board and its own free-to-play jukebox, which can be booked out for private parties. There is also a second pool table in the outdoor smoking area towards to back of the venue, allowing patrons to play when the pool room is booked out.
For Szmulewicz, it was important to respect the heritage features of the venue during the renovation, with parts of the original bar and carpeting still retained.
“We didn’t want to mess with anything structurally. This place has been here longer than any of us have been alive and you can really feel it. We really focused on re-using and embellishing everywhere we could rather than tearing down and starting again. It’s definitely a challenging way to do a renovation. It was essentially dealing with layer upon layer of other people’s visions on top of something that never should have been covered up.”
A diverse menu
For the food and beverage offering, the Bat & Ball team have provided a mix of pub classics and elevated offerings, catering to a wide range of budgets and occasions.
“You can come in and spend $10 on a schooner and have a parmy on parmy night, or you can buy a fancy bottle of wine and have some oysters,” Szmulewicz said.
This is a major departure from the team’s other venues, which have specific focuses, such as the Sunshine Inn’s vegan menu or the Enmore Country Club’s focus on cocktails.
“Every place we had before was very specialised, but we needed to broaden our offering to allow for more diversity. People pass through here from the game, and anyone can walk through the door,” Szmulewicz added.
However, the Bat & Ball does depart from tradition with its snack menu, a number of vegan options, and broad natural wine selection both behind the bar and in the adjoining bottle shop.
“A lot of the pubs around here are very traditional, with steaks, burgers, and beers. Our point of difference is the ability to come in here and have a natural wine, some oysters, and some Mediterranean snacks. Because of our small kitchen, we’ve focused on specialised ingredients and twists on classics. It’s something a bit different, but not too different that it would scare anyone off,” Szmulewicz said.
As much of the team has experience in cocktail bars, the Bat & Ball has a number of bespoke cocktails on offer, and a focus on local Sydney distilleries. Similar to the Enmore Country Club, the coasters at the Bat & Ball also serve as a cocktail menu, with retro influences evident in the reimagined Tequila Sunrise and a riff on a Southern Comfort cooler.
Classic service
As well as reviving the retro décor of the Bat & Ball Hotel, classic pub service was another important part of the project, especially with the venue’s unique drinks selection.
“We’re known for friendly and helpful service, and we hope that this comes through in a pub setting. With the bottle shop, when someone goes in, a staff member will try to help them choose the right wine, because it’s not a standard selection and we don’t expect customers to know all of the wines on offer,” Szmulewicz said.
This also affected the venue’s design, with a longer bar and a return to bar top seating.
“Most pubs have taken the seats around the bar away, so people will order at the bar but sit somewhere else. We’ve brought that back, and we deliberately made the bar a bit wider, so you can sit there and have a chat,” Szmulewicz added.
The team will be celebrating the opening with a party on 16 August, with live DJ sets until last drinks at 1:30am. As part of its regular calendar, the Bat & Ball Hotel offers a never-ending happy hour with $16 Espresso Martinis and Negronis, weekly meal specials, and DJ sets on the weekends.
