zeta bar's 5th birthday

Packed out!

I was lucky enough to attend the Zeta Bar’s invite-only 5th birthday party on Wednesday night.

Zeta is a wonderful cocktail bar in the Sydney Hilton, and over the last few years I’ve had some bloody good cocktail experiences there, even if I couldn’t always get past the bouncers and into the lifts.

In fact, some of my most memorable cocktails have been Zeta creations:
• an excellent Charlie Chaplin served in an antique silver goblet;
• a perfect, huge sphere of ice chilling down smooth Japanese plum wine;
• a caramelised pineapple martini where my fruit had been grilled until smoky, moments before it was served up.

To name a few.

But this time my name was on the list and, after being asked for ID (wow! even at my age), I was in!

The bar was alive, crammed with people and buzzing on the Beach Chic theme. The second we stepped out of the lifts waiters greeted us with our first tasty treat.



Deconstructed Raspberry Mule  (jelly & fizzy sherbet)

 Despite the weather being unseasonably stormy this year, Sydney came dressed in our Beach Best, with a whole lot of colourful maxi dresses, flowing full skirts, tiny shirt dresses, men in indecently scooped V neck shirts and amazing array of sandals and mandals.

The bar shovelled in tonnes of sand, hired models to strut around near-to-naked and projected images reminiscent of Beach Blanket Bingo on the walls.

The crowd starts to arrive

But I was here for the cocktails, and Zeta did not let me down.

No less than 10 alcoholic beauties were offered up for consumption. I drank up every drop, and felt very queasy in the AM.

But it was worth it.

An original Bellini (peach) with Peach Air - DIVINE!

Five types of alcoholic sorbets - I tried them all!

Mojito Sorbet

Piña Colada Sorbet

Belvedere & Tonic sorbet

Tuna with wasabi mayonnaise & cress on cucumber

Seaside Summer Punch in a bucket! made from Belvedere Pink Grapefruit, cranberry juice, elderflower cordial & lychee

Apples soaked in cider until infused then dipped in toffee

Dehydrated Chandon ground into sugar and spun into Fairy Floss

Pink Grapefruit & Ginger Cosmopolitan

white sangria

Roast beef salad with mixed peppers & rum salsa

Raspberry Mule (so intensely raspberry! no skimping on the berries here!)

Fresh Lemonade with Belvedere - DIVINE!

the Wimbledon Martini (strawberries & cream) was a perfect dessert cocktail

the Zeta Espresso

Other items I tried but forgot to photograph included the Long Island ice tea snow cone, Chandon nitro puffs, avocado and egg nori rolls with soy sauce, fried pumpkin and ricotta parcels with passionfruit sour cream, Kohuna ham & pineapple mini pizzas, coconut crumbed prawns with mango mayonnaise, crispy fish & chips with lemon in a noodle box, mini cheese burgers with pickles.

A great night.