Things are finally looking up for the Sydney CBD. Specifically, ten floors up, where a new sky bar is encouraging inner city workers to clock off early for Friday night drinks. 

Shell House is the latest offering from the Point Group, the hospitality crew behind The Dolphin, Harpoon Harry’s and Bondi Public Bar.

The new multi-level drinking and dining destination is made up of four distinct spaces, Menzies Bar on the ground floor, Shell House Dining Room and Terrace and Clocktower Bar on level nine and Sky Bar on level 10. 

Perched on the building’s top floor adjacent to the 400-tonne clock face, the glass-enclosed bar lives up to its name with 180-degree views of the sparkling city skyline. Slip in at 6pm and you can even watch the sun set over your 10th Floor Fizz. 

The slick interiors reveal an eclectic mix of organic tones and textures, with brightly patterned sofas and a polished timber bar. Either way you look, you’re guaranteed a great view. 

Expectations are naturally high for the food menu, which was put together by fine-dining chef Joel Bickford. The short selection is made up of elevated plates that wouldn’t be out of place at Aria, where Bickford used to work. 

On the menu, ciambella refers to a Roman-style doughnut. Like a jam ball, these fried spheres of dough are pocketed with a sweet and salty filling of fresh ricotta whipped with lemon and anchovy. They’re extremely moreish but at $14 a pop, it’s steep – even when you include the sky bar tax. 

A serving of mussels could easily be a dish on a 12-course degustation. Dressed up like a fine French patisserie, toast fingers are piped with a green garlic emulsion and topped with a tweezered arrangement of perfectly cooked mussels draped in fatty slivers of guanciale. It doesn’t exactly scream bar snack, but it does taste alarmingly good.

If you can pass your meal off as a work expense, then go all out and get the Oscietra caviar, which is served with crispy slices of socca, a snacky Niçoise pancake made from chickpea flour. Fingers crossed they don’t question the $190 charge. 

If you want something to soak up the alcohol, the school prawns with sea parsley and a yoghurt and lemon aioli will do the trick. These crispy, crunchy crustaceans are everything you want in a bar snack and more. 

The food menu is surprisingly short, but you can always head downstairs to the dining room if you’re after something a little more substantial. 

Or maybe just don’t go too hard on the drinks, which is difficult considering the calibre of the concoctions. The list has been overseen by Alex Kirkwood, yet another Aria recruit. The menu gives the classic cocktails a shake-up to include unexpected combinations that deliver real kick. 

A Sicilian-style limoncello margarita has none of the sweetness of the syrupy Italian liqueur, but all of the fresh lemon flavour. It’s paired with sea salt and Sichuan pepper, which adds herbal hints of pine and rounded citrus notes. 

Wall Street wannabes should try the Negative Gearing, which is essentially a next gen take on the classic Old Fashioned. The libation combines clarified ice cream bourbon with Bulleit Rye, Fernet Blanca, hazelnut and smoked coconut to produce a rich and aromatic tipple reminiscent of a warmly spiced pudding. 

Service is great, if I do say so myself. Simply scan a QR code at the table and you are your own waiter for the night. The online app includes a menu, complete with images and descriptions, which allow you to order and pay whenever you want.

Despite the ever-ticking reminder to your right, it’s easy to lose track of time when the food, booze and views are this good. 

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