Moody, characterful and with great drinks – what more could you want from a bar? Photo: The Black Cockatoo.
On a stinking hot Friday evening in Wollongong, I was in a bad mood and looking for somewhere cool to rest my aching feet. I found myself wandering past a coffee shop when I noticed something odd – the cafe was definitely closed, but the front door was open and there was a curtain covering the doorway to a back room. I thought I could hear music so, intrigued, I checked the signage. One half read Early Bird, and the other The Black Cockatoo. I cautiously poked my head through the curtain and found myself in a bar.
I had stumbled upon a speakeasy.
Friendly bartender Dan Curtis chatted with me about the bar.
“The original owners used to have a wine bar next door, but they wanted to open a speakeasy because there was nothing like it at the time in Wollongong.”
Bartender Dan makes an excellent cocktail. Photo: Jye Talbot.
The Black Cockatoo is everything you want in a bar: a little moody, full of character and serving up excellent drinks. There’s a solid list of classic and house cocktails and on this hot day I know that I want a margarita. Rule number three on the house rules states that the go-to version at Black Cockatoo is Tommy’s Margarita made with Reposado tequila, lime and agave. Poured over ice it is super refreshing and, as the menu correctly asserts, absolutely ‘smashable’.
Other house rules state “Absolutely no racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic or generally gronky behaviour/talk of any kind. In short – don’t be a d—head.” Rule number 6 also warns that service may come to a standstill if any Kylie Minogue is played.
This is my kind of bar.
The Charlie Chaplin was so good, it might just be my new go-to. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Dan tells me that it’s a favourite hangout for hospitality shift workers in the CBD. I’m visiting during a quiet period (just before happy hour) but he tells me things are usually buzzing later on.
“If you ask any self-respecting bartender or chef where they come after work, they come here,” Dan says.
“We get busy after dinner and then there’s usually a lull at around 11:30. But we start pumping again at midnight when all the hospos come in.”
The Black Cockatoo is open until 2 am on Friday and Saturday nights, and there’s a proper range of spirits and delicious craft beers available. And the cafe out the front is open extra early for hospos on the other side of the shift work spectrum. I describe myself as a recovering chef, and Dan offers his (joking) condolences, before giving me an excellent list of some of the best places to try in town.
After midnight the bar is full of hospitality workers. Photo: The Black Cockatoo.
I notice on the menu that if you’re hungry they allow customers to BYO food from their neighbours Pizzeria 50 or Souva King: the King of Kembla Street.
I’m having trouble choosing a second drink and Dan suggests a Charlie Chaplin. Made with sloe gin, apricot brandy and lime, this might just be my new go-to classic cocktail. I sip from the coupe and read a book using the underbar lights.
As I leave the place is starting to fill up with people seeking after-work drinks and attending a few festive gatherings. I step through the curtain into the humidity of the street, but I’m in a fantastic mood.
The Black Cockatoo is open from 5 pm to 12 am on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, from 4 pm to 2 am on Friday and from 5 pm to 2 am on Saturday.
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