Centro 86 is a bar for pre- or post-dinner drinks.Janie Barrett“Now,more than ever,people need places and moments of escapism,” says Mucho creative director Jeremy Blackmore,who joked “it will be like an old cantina on mushrooms”.
“We want to see the room filled with all the energy and chaos of a classic night out,to come in and discover the hidden quirks of this space.”
In 2022,Mucho openedEnmore Road martini bar,Bar Planet,introducing Humphries’ cosmic aesthetic to their brand and helping tobring the classic gin cocktail to new heights of popularity in Sydney. But at Centro 86 (so-named for its city location),it’s all about the margarita.
Much like Bar Planet did with martinis,Centro 86 will stretch your perception of its cocktail-of-choice with the option to create your own customised margarita with hand-shaved ice and freshly squeezed lime juice,choosing from a selection of 100 tequilas.
A Spicy Margarita (left) and a Royale Margarita.Janie BarrettEach tequila and blue agave spirit (tequila made outside the Mexican state of Jalisco) was hand-selected by the team – whether during visits to backyard distilleries in the east-central Mexican city of Puebla,or to Australia’s first commercial-scale agave farm in Bowen,Queensland.
Some are rapidly aged in-house on cherry wood,pecan wood or iron bark,developing hard-to-find deep,smooth flavours.
“Tequila is one of the world’s most unique spirits,it’s really one-of-a-kind because it really speaks to the place it came from,” says Blackmore,explaining how the spirit has moved far beyond the hungover-inducing shots of your teenage years.
Beyond the DIY drinks,venue manager and margarita expert Ryan Bickley (from Cantina OK!,where he’s estimated to have made tens of thousands of them) has helped to develop four signature house margaritas made with “low-key cocktail theatre”.
Photo:Janie BarrettPisco,agave and white rum will round out the cocktail menu,which focuses on resurrecting forgotten or maligned drinks. The “Caprioska”,for example,twists the 𝄒70s Brazilian classic Caipiroska into a summery cocktail of green tea vodka,lime,sugar and lime ice.
But don’t expect any substantial food offering. This is a bar for pre- or post-dinner drinks,when you’ll be happy snacking on paper bags of Mucho’s signature popcorn in a secret,yet-to-be-disclosed flavour.
“We think[Centro 86] will bring Sydney a lot of joy,” Blackmore says.
“We love this city and want to make it more human,more weird,more interesting and more fun.”
Open daily4pm-2am
Basement,86-88 Pitt Street,Sydney (enter via Hoskings Place),instagram.com/centro.86