Winnie's Circular Quay brings café by sunrise, cocktail bar by sunset vibes to the Opera House
Perched on the Opera House's Lower Concourse, right between the sails and the harbour, Winnie's is Applejack's new all-day café and cocktail bar, taking over a slice of the site once part of Opera Bar. Mornings lean into coffee, pastries and brekky plates; the kitchen moves through congee, tuna tartare and a king prawn conchiglie by lunch. Then, once the sun starts dropping, the bar takes over with native-flavoured cocktails like Wattleseed and Lilly Pilly, alongside the usual spritz-and-martini crowd-pleasers.
The name is a tribute to Winifred Atwell, the trailblazing Trinidadian pianist who famously played for the Opera House's construction crew back in 1964, years before the building was even finished, and the venue is built to carry that same sense of warmth and occasion.
Sydney design studio Luchetti Krelle led the fit-out, giving the space a heritage feel without losing its own identity. The refresh also brought a new pastry counter, a fully electric kitchen, and an expanded bar, now serving more than 330 seats across the terrace and seawall.
Quick Bites
EAT: Blue Swimmer crab omelette for breakfast. Baked eggplant parmigiana for lunch.
DRINK: A nice drop from the all-Australian wine list.
PLAY: Drop by before catching a show at the Opera House. How iconically Sydney!
VIBE CHECK: A family-friendly café by day, buzzy cocktail bar by night.
