Donny's Bar

The local take

Donny's hides in a laneway off Whistler Street, and it's the bar locals send you to when you ask where to go after dinner. Low light, exposed brick, a natural wine list that goes properly deep, and charcuterie boards that keep coming until late. The New York loft feel shouldn't work a hundred metres from a surf beach, but it absolutely does.

The kitchen's side hustle is the thing that converts first-timers: a cheeseburger regularly named the best in Manly, ordered at the bar and eaten by candlelight over a glass of gamay. Quiet midweek, humming Fridays, and one of the few Manly rooms that rewards a slow night rather than a loud one.

Donny's Bar is also in our food guide — see the restaurant page for the kitchen side of the story.