48 Hours in Haymarket
A splashy stay brings serious style to the southern tip of the CBD.
The hotel
Pitt Street’s Hotel Morris Sydney said let there be light… and let it be fabulous. Barely a wall in this 82-room heritage-listed property is without intricate lighting: there’s a pair of rippled, candy-orange glass sconces bookending the beds, marble-fronted fixtures hovering outside the lifts and red chandeliers dripping over Bar Morris in the lobby. The hotel lands quite the decorative punch, as well as a gastronomic one: the aforementioned bar has everything from fried oyster sandos to pangrattato spaghettone finished with smoked roe on its vibrant Italian-inspired dinner menu.
The bar
An offshoot of Surry Hills stalwart Nomad, Beau Bar is close to its sibling in both geography and ethos. Wading through the sizable wine list here is a pleasure, with plenty of local labels alongside the European classics and a selection of left-of-centre drops, including a Swartland chenin blanc and a malvasia from Tenerife.
The micro-gallery
There are no opening hours at Passage because the glass-fronted installation space never closes, sending an everlasting glow of light out over the Level One balcony of Quay Street’s Prince Trade Centre. The displayed artworks are regularly rotated and able to be admired at any time of day or night – access is via stairs from Thomas Street.
The restaurant
The cult of Gumshara continues at its new Haymarket location, where queues signal the entrance to this unassuming ramen joint. For the complete experience, ignore the polite, laminated signs (“If it’s too salty/if it’s too thick, let us know and we’ll adjust”) and heap on the toppings from the station of sesame seeds, fresh spring onion, chilli flakes et al and slurp yourself into full-bellied contentment.