As the city that never sleeps, New York is a hub of drinking haunts. Among its many award-winning bars sits Employees Only, a world-renowned speakeasy that has luckily for us just turned it attention Down Under. Grab your diaries because November will mark the bar’s first Australian launch.

The new Sydney headquarters of Employees Only will sit, Employees Only will settle on a heritage space on Barrack Street in the CBD. It has promised it will continue its New York mantra, that of exceptional cocktails and refined bar bites, all served without a hint of pretension.

The New York institution was founded back in 2004 by a crew that included Dushan Zaric, Henry La Fargue, Igor Hadzismajlovic, Jason Kosmas and Bill Gilroy, and Robert Krueger. Since then, the group has welcomed outposts inHong Kong, Singapore and Miami. For the Sydney incarnation, the team has welcomed Sydney-native Anna Fang on board as venue manager.

“New York is the bar that is great every night of the week, every month of the year, in every kind of weather. It’s one of the most consistently fun places in the world,” explains Krueger of the group’s mantra. “It’s this energy that we’re really wanting to bring to Sydney. We’re excited to work with the incredible local bar community, together helping to reinvigorate Sydney’s nightlife and bring it back onto the global stage.”

And while they may have multiple venues around the globe, the group is adamant that every bar is individual. “Whilst we have venues all over the world, we’re not a franchise. Cities that host Employees Only have global connections with international populations and extremely sophisticated dining and drinking cultures, so we never want to create a copy and paste venue. It has to be locally appropriate,” says Krueger.

The bar’s specialty is of course cocktails. Employees Only Sydney promises to serve the drinks for which they have become famous, but alongside a handful of Sydney-inspired specials. These classics will include ‘Amelia’, a mixture of vodka, elderflower liqueur, pureed blackberries and fresh lemon and ‘the Provençal’, made with lavender-infused gin, stirred with Herbs de Provence infused vermouth and Cointreau.

Drinks are to be partnered with a New York-bistro menu from head chef Aurelian Girault that is designed to ‘cater to the adventurous Sydney palate’. But again the bar snacks that have proven most popular at the original will also be available. These dishes will include the famed steak tartare, made with hand cut filet mignon, roasted tomato puree, parsley, Dijon, capers, shallots and Employees Only hot sauce.

Interior designer Tim Leveson has taken care of the space’s styling. The basement space will integrate neon signs, and EO-branded awning among its more stand-out features. A public bar space will be joined by a dining room (with booth seating), as well as a private dining space for 30.

“We like to adapt to the space that’s available, and there are different architectural elements that are part of the vocabulary of each city that have distinct meaning in their context. Here in Sydney, we have found an amazing heritage basement, with a beautiful set of skylights, set in the sidewalk. The city’s shape and history define the space in a number of ways and we take these on as real opportunities to tailor the concept to the city,” says Krueger.

“Employees Only is a space for Sydneysiders to enjoy, whatever stage of the evening, whether it’s oysters and martinis at 6.00pm, steak tartare and wine at 8.00pm, Manhattans after dinner or simply because you feel like champagne.”

Employees Only Sydney will open this November.