Sydney’s newest rooftop bar has been modelled on the North African concept of a kasbah, a fortress typically found on high ground above a city. Climb the stairs of the newly reimagined Strand Hotel to find Kasbah looking over everything from heritage terraces to brutalist apartment blocks and gleaming skyscrapers.

The bar itself is all tones and textures, with pinks and browns, a colourful wall of Moroccan tiles, Moroccan carpets and jars of preserved lemons and piquillo peppers. The location of this modern-day oasis just down the way from the iconic Coca-Cola billboard in Kings Cross ensures a colourful clientele.

There are the buff blokes in tight shorts recovering from a workout at nearby City Gym, and British backpackers who stand out because of their sunburn and accents. And a cluster of dudes who confide they have been converging here every weekend since it opened because they live in a nearby apartment that doesn’t have a balcony.

Plus, they’d heard correctly that the drinks list had been curated by the award-winning Maybe Sammy team, and that chef Clayton Wells (ex-Automata) was behind the food.

The food and drinks menu is, like the space, small but good fun: a Balter XPA, a Ficus (gin, fig, ginger, dry vermouth, white peach and jasmine soda) cocktail and glass of Petit Coup de Genie from France are as refreshing as the breeze.

Kasbah is not the kind of place you go if you’re feeling anti-social. For me, it’s giving off Bondi share-house party vibes when I was going through my futon phase and had a fine eye for retro street-find furniture.

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The rooftop is divided into shared zones, so the friendly dudes from the nearby apartment join us in our cordoned-off quarter for some laid-back lounging on the linen-clad sofas. The area is framed by curtains and has clusters of low-lying furniture arranged around elegant umbrellas fringed with terracotta pots filled with agaves and cactuses.

While the succulents might be drought-tolerant, humans are not and the group at the nearby communal area request the staff retract the roof. The best bit about this flexible all-weather roofing system is that it has three separate sections, which means those using the space can choose to be exposed to the elements or fully sheltered.

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Our magical carpet ride around French Morocco continues with the grazing menu, which, like the sofas, is designed to share. We’ll return on a pilgrimage for the fat tiger prawns, which were served in a creamy coriander-flecked puddle of ginger and fresh turmeric.

The chicken liver parfait arrives rippled across a pillow of brioche and is velvety in texture and flavour, and perfect with the crunch of pickled currants. It’s as blissful as the blue skies on this sun-drenched Sydney day.

The yellowfin tuna crudo with lemon and saffron vinaigrette also takes its influence from French Moroccan flavours, but would have benefited from a bit more of a citrusy zing. The kefta, a minced meatball on a skewer, is made to order and reminiscent of the sizzling street food on offer at the souks in Marrakesh.

As we were leaving, Ice Cube’s You Know How We Do It was blaring. Next time, we know how we’ll do it: we’ll rent a room and stay and play.

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