Concrete Playground

Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go … When the Beach Boys penned those lyrics, they probably weren’t thinking of an industrial island smack-bang in the middle of an antipodean metropolis. Cockatoo Island may not have sandy beaches and swaying palm trees, but its newest resident, The Island Bar, is adding a touch of beach to Sydney Harbour.

This brand new bar by renowned Sydney mixologist Marco Faraone surprises with its striped deckchairs and sunbrellas alongside the site’s antique shipbuilding machinery, a reminder of the island’s heritage past – over the years, it was an imperial prison, a shipbuilding yard, reformatory, Commonwealth naval base and industrial school. The design of the bar – it’s constructed from recycled shipping containers – picks up on this theme.

Cocktails are Faraone’s passion and he’s launching Cocktail Island later this year. In the old convict precinct on Cockatoo, this event will focus on introducing the cocktail culture to a beer-drinking Oz. And, trust me, they know what they’re doing. The cocktails sampled by this cocktail-lover, particularly the Cold War Sgroppino, certainly leave you on a high. But The Island Bar doesn’t only want to get you tipsy, it also wants to entertain you with live music and Croquet and Bocce (Italian bowls) tournaments.

Like all remote destinations there is a bit of an effort in getting there and decisions to go probably don’t run as spontaneously as with other Sydney hotspots, but ferries leave from Circular Quay pretty regularly, so what’s your excuse? A trip to The Island Bar is well worth it for the unparalleled eastward view of the harbour, the heady cocktails and all the reclining you’ll do on a canvas beach chair. In the words of the Beach Boys, you can 'get there fast and then take it slow'. And, there’s always the option to stay a night on Cockatoo Island if those cocktails get the better of you. From $45 a night you can choose khaki tents or holiday houses and apartments, and wake up to the sound of boats clinking on the harbour.