Sometimes, when you’re out for a night on the town, ya gotta go off the beaten path away from the tourist trade and have some fun. In Sydney, why head down to the Harbour or the Opera House when you can find your own fun in the neighborhood of Newtown. Just a short distance from the hubbub of downtown Sydney (the Central Business District), Newtown is historically known as the artistic district in the Inner West area.
Newtown was originally a prosperous suburb; numerous lavish Victorian mansions can still be found throughout the area. However, many parts of Newtown had gradually become a working-class enclave, and for much of the 20th century, Newtown was a low-income blue-collar suburb, similar to Redfern or Glebe. In the years following World War II, the low rents and house prices attracted newly arrived European migrants from war-torn Europe, and Newtown’s population changed radically, becoming home to a sizable migrant community. From the 1970s, as the post-war population prospered, many moved to outlying suburbs to build larger houses, resulting in a supply of relatively cheap terrace houses and cottages. Due to its proximity to the expanding Sydney University and the Sydney CBD, along with the comparatively low rents, Newtown began to attract university students in the 1960s and 1970s. The area became a center for student share-households in Sydney and the development of cafés, pubs and restaurants made it a magnet for a young demographic. Since the 1970’s and 1980’s, Newtown gained a reputation as a bohemian center and the gay and lesbian population also increased. You will find a small number of theaters, both cinema and live-stage, as well as a large number of restaurants and bars that run the gamut from traditional Australian hotels to trendy cafes with upscale fare.
Like most neighborhoods, there is a main street that leads to all places. That main street in Newtown is King Street. As you step off the train at Newtown Station and walk upstairs, you are greeted by a busy thoroughfare. Everything can be found on and off King Street. Walk southward on King Street, and you will find Bloodwood, a hip restaurant that is a can’t miss for anyone looking for great food in a cool atmosphere. The menu has quite a diverse fare that ranges from Asian-fusion, Italian, Greek, traditional Australian, or Latin. For starters, order up their polenta fries; long, golden-hot sticks of molded polenta that come with thick blue-cheese sauce for dipping. Be careful when eating one because they come fresh out of the fryer and are really hot! For the main course, try their Chinese-style sautéed chicken that comes mixed with cashews, scallions, onions, assorted greens in a peanut sauce. For a German dish, try their short-rib bowl that comes atop a bed of spätzle and roasted vegetables. Craving Mediterranean? A bowl of assorted olives for sharing pairs well with an assorted cheese platter. And to top it all off, Bloodwood features an impressive wine list and cocktail assortment. Save room for dessert; their English trifle comes in a tall, wine glass and has a rum finish towards the bottom of the glass.
After dinner, how about some entertainment? Just a few steps across the street from Bloodwood is a place for swingers. Golf swings, that is! Enter Holey Moley indoor golf course and be dazzled by a bar that looks like if Willy Wonka joined the PGA Masters. Besides a fully-stocked bar and menu, the indoor course will attract the most hardcore linksman. There are eighteen holes, nine on two floors. And each hole, like any mini-golf course has its theme. Enter a mock-up of “The Simpsons” living room. Escape the ghosts from “Pac-Man” on a video-game green. Master dragons at a “Game of Thrones” hole. Get into the groove at a discotheque hole complete with blacklight, neon paint and platform shoes. Go back to the 1980’s with a Tetris-themed hole that comes with a massive NES controller. And for the kid in all of us, a hole that is made to look like the game of “Mouse Trap.” If you have ever wanted to know what it would be like if golf took on a rube-goldberg device, this is it. Don’t forget your golf trophy at the end of your putting odyssey. It’s shaped like a toilet!
With dinner and entertainment behind you, why not cap off the night with a movie? Walk northwards up King Street, and you will find the Dendy Cinemas. Dendy, which is a chain of cinema houses throughout Australia, plays both mainstream and indie-hits. Think of it like the Angelika Film Center but down under. Movie ticket prices might be a bit higher in Australia than in America, but you will find wine and espresso alongside the familiar popcorn and Italian gelato. Somehow, I hope this trend makes it way to American theaters soon.
Bloodwood: 416 King Street, Newtown, NSW, 2042
+61 2 9557 7699
Opens Monday thru Friday from 5 pm to Midnight. Sundays, 1 pm to Midnight. Closed on Mondays.
Holey Moley: 387 King Street, Newtown, NSW, 2042
+61 2 7201 8316
Open seven days a week. Monday thru Thursday from 4pm to 10 pm. Fridays from 2 pm to Midnight. Saturdays from Noon to Midnight. Sundays from Noon to 10 pm.
