The Library Bar — Restaurant in Sydney

3 stars. If I were in the stacks, working on my thesis, I would absolutely be thrilled if this were the bar that was part of my grad school library! Alas, I did my thesis in Boston years ago.

I want to start by saying how much I really wanted to like this place. A bar… In a library. I’m a writer! I thought this was brilliant, and somebody recommended it, and I was so excited about the concept, but the execution, at least with the bartending, was a bit off. The space was fabulous but…read on.

Lovely views, but the bartender staff seemed overwhelmed, and a couple of the drinks were a mess. Either the bartender made them incorrectly or, conceptually, they were a bit odd to begin with, but I don’t think they were something that could be salvaged. One of the drinks involved balsamic glaze and mezcal, and I’m sure, in the right hands, it could’ve been exquisite, but what I had was honestly just balsamic vinegar with some booze. There’s a photo. It was the weirdest drink I’ve ever had in my entire life. And I love odd drinks. And I love experimental drinks, and I love drinks with native ingredients, but not this.

Also, for a warm lovely night in spring, two bartenders…not nearly enough for the crowd. The drinks took quite a long time to arrive.

Finally, they had a blackboard special with things crossed out, and I was giggling at one of the names, because it was titled “clothed and anonymous” and… that was brilliant, because I love the drink “naked and famous” and I make it at home with aperol and chartreuse and mezcal, and it’s a ton of fun, so I was giggling at the name of “Clothed and anonymous” and the bartender said he could make me one. So I’m wondering why it was crossed off the list as being a special. It was a little confusing. Then he asked me what was in it, and I talked to him about how much I love chartreuse and what was in the “naked and famous” and he made me what I think was “naked and famous”, but it had had way too much chartreuse, and it was all just very confusing. Some of the other drinks did not hit base at all. They sounded great, but they were not well balanced. I think more staff would solve the problem, hopefully!

Some tips on going: If it’s going to be a beautiful night, please be sure that you get there in advance, because there are two levels of rooftop bars, and the upper level is certainly the one with a better view. The lower level is no slouch, but the upper level is much better.

You enter in an elevator, and even though there’s someone there at the door, that looks a bit official, you don’t have to have reservations to get in. It was a bit confusing, because we thought he was going to tell us that we needed a reservation, but perhaps he was just there to show us how to get to the elevator?

The bar is filled with wonderful art on the walls and is really tons of fun.

When you arrive at the top of the elevator, you are greeted by a gorgeous mannequin; she is covered in scrabble pieces. She clearly needs the name, although I don’t know what it is. The Bar needs to name her. It just gets more interesting from there. There’s even a playful little sign when you go to find the bathroom that lets you know that nope… you have not, in fact, reached the bathroom, but if you keep going, you could find it. It’s just an adorable playful place!

The place is so playful, and I really wanted to give it five stars, but the odd drinks and the lack of bartenders and the slowness of the drinks and the quality of the drinks, just made me knock it down to three stars. Perhaps everybody was just having an off night? Hopefully? Do not discount this place! Please go! Hoping somebody was having an off-night and that they were just understaffed. If I lived here, I would certainly give it another try, but for right now, it is three stars...

The outdoor areas of the bar located on the flat rooftop of the Mitchell wing of the State Library of New South Wales is a fine place to take visitors from out of town. It has bookable tables, both indoor and out, and an interesting nibbling menu to accompany those drinks. The cocktails are a bit hit and miss - some better than others, and unfortunately the standards like Manhattans and dry martinis are a bit watery and short on alcohol for the price charged. You can of course ask for a 'double' to reach the standard of a good five star hotel bar's cocktail strength, but you will need to also pay 'double' to achieve this. Still, if you prefer a non-cocktail there is plenty on their drinks menu to choose from including some decent wines available by the glass, aperitifs, digestifs, scotches, whiskeys, gins, vodkas, sparkling wines, non-alcoholic cocktails and naked wines, and tap beers.

The lower deck of the outdoor area is strung with attractive LED tea lights above, making for a pretty effect. The upper deck has these lights strung around the perimeter railing. In winter, the upper deck is adorned with LPG outdoor gas heaters, some of which blast a good heat into the open air for the enjoyment of those seated nearby, but others have only a weak flame and offer little in the way of heat, or flame out and waiting staff can take a while or struggle to get them going again or replace the LPG tank if that is what is required, so be prepared to shiver for half an hour or so in winter if you're unlucky to be at a table served only by one of the malfunctioning LPG gas heaters. Still, I shouldn't complain - it's a symbol of late-capitalist fossil fuel exploitation and profligacy of the human era on planet earth that we even do this (burn non-renewable fossil fuels in the open air). Time will come when the fossil fuels are all gone and we'll be back to shivering in caves or burnt-out factories, starving and hiding from the zombie apocalypse, so enjoy being heated outdoors in winter in Oz while you can!

Service is sterling - you only have to wave slightly to attract the attention of the excellent staff to come and take your drink or food order, and wait times are reasonable.

Once the master lift servicing the bar from the ground floor has been finished and is in service, patrons will no longer have to do the meandering lift/stairs combo to get up to the bar and back down to ground again. This may be a few months away according to the security gent we spoke to.

Views out over the expressway below, domain and Art Gallery of NSW toward Potts Point are excellent. While seated in the far corner of the upper deck, there's even a partial view of the Harbour...

Lovely ambience and views, but a disappointing experience for the following reasons. When my partner and I entered the bar, we were asked if we had made a booking. When we said no, it initially looked like this would be a problem, yet the venue at 5pm was largely empty, and so we were offered a table. Ok, no problem, all sorted. However, when I ordered some drinks and tried to pay for them at the table, the eftpos terminal defaulted to requiring a tip percentage to be added to the total, starting at 5% and working upwards in increments. When I looked confused, the waiter said "press tip, press tip, press tip". So, feeling pressured to act, I pressed the 5% option. Minutes later, I heard the same waiter say exactly the same thing to another table, who were also clearly just as confused as I initially was. So, it appears you have to give a compulsory tip with every transaction, which I'm not sure is even legal. And what would have happened if I had refused to "press tip"? Apart from an unpleasant altercation, which would have ruined the mood, would the order have still been taken?

Anyway, when my gin and tonic turned up, it was actually gin and soda. When I pointed this out to the same waiter, he showed me his order tablet, which did record he had correctly pressed gin and tonic, the inference being that I could not tell the difference between soda and tonic. So I sent him and the drink back to the bar which confirmed soda had been used by mistake. Then, when my G&T did return, the waiter handed me the original straw that came with the first drink wrapped in a napkin. Why? All up, my visit to Library Bar was one of the more surreal experiences I've had in a Sydney bar, but I was particularly disappointed that I was made to apply a 5% tip to a bill before getting any service, then didn't get...