Mucho Group – the team behind beloved Sydney bars Cantina OK!, Bar Planet, Centro 86, and Tio’s Cerveceria – has launched Herbs Taverne on Sydney’s Clarence Street.
The bar is Negroni focussed, with an extensive collection of iconic and rare amaros from around the globe.
“We’re honoured to open our sixth beautiful venue, Herbs Taverne,” says Mucho Group General Manager Daisy Tulley. “Herbs is another nugget of joy for Sydney – a warm, cosy, artistic space with delicious, surprising cocktails and an inclusive and empathic team who are ready to make memories. And the popcorn recipe is our best yet.”
The menu has just 12 drinks in four sections: three styles of negroni, three aperitifs, three icy cold digestif blends, and three seasonal cocktails.
“We’re looking to the deeper Sydney pantry, from the Chinese supermarket to the weird Euro throwback shop in the Inner West,” says Mucho Group Creative Director Jeremy Blackmore. “We’re trying to connect flavours that sing together, without being boxed into the expectations of their origin. Delicious cocktails that step just far enough outside of frame to feel distinctively Mucho.”
It wouldn’t be a Negroni bar without a house option. The Herbs Negroni nods to tradition, with gin, Campari, and a custom blend of two red vermouths. The other two Negroni options create a stoplight-hued trio: the gold variety is slightly tropical with Lillet Blanc, Cocchi Americano, gentian, and Chinola, while the green uses house-made parsley amaro to create a herby riff on the original.
“Jeremy has done a magnificent job with Herbs’ menu,” says Tulley. “The drinks are unmistakably Mucho, this time in the land of bitters. “The negroni is my favourite cocktail, it’s the perfect balance of bitter and sweet. The Herbs Negroni is particularly joyful and served just how I like it – very cold, perfectly balanced with a wedge of orange. No fancy chunk of ice, no orange skin peeled into a design. Simply delicious.”
The bar is open every night from 4pm to 2am.
Photography by Nikki To
