Blu Bar on 36 @ The Shangri La Review

Cocktails were awesome, but if you are up for beer/wine, there are much fewer choices.

Almost perfect sight of the Sydney bridge and Opera House. Indoor lights reflects on the windows.

Awesome staff. Outdated and extremely old furnishings. Shame because the view is outstanding. Staff friendly and professional and the only reason for 2 stars.

Blu Bar on 36 had me screaming 'shut up and take my money already', when I saw that 'free-flowing cocktails' come with their weekend high tea! Along with a gaggle of ladies all dressed in pink, I arrived on time for the 1.45pm kick off to their Blu Bar High Tea Buffet ($95/person). On this particular Sunday, our attendance was dedicated to celebrating my very good friend being breast cancer-free for three years. It was a cause for celebration, and we were eager to begin; so the ten minutes we were left standing in the corridor dodging frantic kitchen staff still stocking the high tea buffet were torturous.

The promised Champagne on arrival took another fifteen minutes to hit our table, so, somewhat parched, but eager to begin our experience, we hit up the buffet instead. Compared with some of the photos I ve seen circulating on the Internet, our high tea buffet lacked the visual impact I ve come to expect from Anna Polyviou and her team.

Savoury eats were separated into hot and cold, with the cold dishes performing better that the lamb croquettes and selection of quiches that didn t seem to move throughout my two hour visit. Updated classics, like egg sandwiches turned into egg shots with creamy egg and mayonnaise, crustless bread and watercress, and cucumber sangas presented as layered cream cheese and cucumber ribbon open-faced affairs, were my highlights.

While I appreciated seeing them using local cultured butter from Pepe Saya, I wasn t quite sure what we were expected to do with the lewd yellow pat, sitting right next to a wheel of bland cheese and some charred sourdough to eat it on. Beetroot cured salmon arranged with capers on rounds of brown bread, and cold chicken and salad sliders helped round out the buffet's savoury selections.

With the free-flowing cocktails in distinct absence, one of my fellow high tea attendees popped up to the makeshift bar to get us a pair. She was redirected back to the table with the news that they were an all-or-nothing, full table affair. Built over whole glasses of crushed ice, the tequila cocktail lacked the fluffy pink Mohawk of Persian fairy floss the online photos had me expecting, and drank like tequila and orange juice. The gin cocktail fared slightly better against pink grapefruit, but could have been filled up completely considering how long we had already had to wait.

While I recognise the need for cocktails that can be made quickly, I have to say I was disappointed with both cocktails being acidic, juice-based, single spirit, one-note affairs that really didn t live up to Blu Bar s brand promise. And don't even get me started on how long it took to get another one, or the fact that we had to ask for them each time. Clearing the tables of used plates without it being necessary to make a request was another sore point.

Okay, let s distract ourselves with cake... For something contemporary, popping , was my highlight, decked out with caramel, popcorn and chocolate with a gooey, Mars Bar-like centre. Polyviou s twist on the classic orange and poppy seed was another eye-catching curvaceous winner, though everyone else at my table seemed more taken with well-presented shot glasses of berry panna cotta.

Buttermilk and tea-raisin scones, served with two jams and clotted cream, lacked the lightness I ve come to expect from the beauties I ve eaten courtesy of the Country Women s Association.

With last drinks called at 3.15pm (thirty minutes before our allotted two hours ended) and food cleared with most guests still in the bar at 3.30pm, I can t say I felt like I received good value for my nearly hundred dollar spend.

Staff would do well to remember that when replenishing the buffet, they re entering a dining room and on display to guests. Dirty tea towels dangling from waists and restocking from plastic tubs with use-by dates on display (rather than white plates), detract from the five star hotel experience. I ve seen this venue perform better.

Amazing views, but very crowded, way too dark light in the bar and drinks are way too expensive. We paid 24 AUD for 1 pimms cocktail, where as you can get pimms jugs for around that price in the sydney region.

Incredible (albeit somewhat pricey but worth it) cocktails, and unparalleled views. A MUST visit.

Great selection of drinks and spectacular views of harbour n city skyline !!

Can't beat the view or the unique cocktail selection but get there early

Great view, but the fitout is left a little wanting. But the view is one of the best in Sydney

Amazing views, excellent cocktails, lively but luxurious atmosphere. A little pricey but not unreasonably so for the experience. A bit on the small side so better for small groups than large meet-ups.

Expensive but with an amazing view and great service

High tea in the sky! I loved this high tea experience @shangrilasydney , as we had amazing views of Sydney harbour and delicious food to fill our tummies - even better was that it was a high tea buffet! When I went a while ago the price was only $75pp on weekends and we were lucky to get a window seat too. But on their website the current price is $95 on weekends and $125pp for a window seat, and honestly I don t think I can justify paying more than $100pp for high tea... Price Range: $75pp on Fridays - $125pp on weekends (with window seat).
Instagram: @valerie.n.eats

**This review is based on the high tea**
An extremely disappointing experience. I can t even consider this a high tea - no tea or coffee (only sparkling wine/cocktails (extra cost) and water) and the most underwhelming 3 tiered high tea set. The savoury bites were alright, some tasted cheap but some decent. The sweets were extremely mediocre - quality wasn t great. The scones were fluffy but pretty standard. Service was almost non-existent - it was extremely hard to get the attention on staff and they didn t serve enough for the table (we were missing two servings). The two stars given are for views and ambience. High tea was a waste of money and definitely will not be back again for it.

Fabulous High Tea with my friends. Best view in Sydney

Don't get there for high tea, you wait a long time to get seated, 2 people to serve a full room, a buffet with a long queue and sugar loaded drinks. Certainly better places to enjoy a high tea. The view is of course good, but only for a few guests and this is not the only place like this in Sydney.

Blue bar is great place for location and quality of food and drinks ... however service is hit and miss ... we had server which was very rude ... even while we having our drinks and food ... she kept coming back to check if plate was empty to collect... not sure what was happening ... as soon as picked last bit of food of the plate ... she jumped in and took plate away ... felt very weird ... had dinner elsewhere

All though the cocktails were good they weren't amazing, but you don't really go there and expect amazing cocktails, you go there for great views and decent atmosphere, they could have a bigger selection of drinks considering they are in a hotel and allways busy!

This is the worst Shangri-La bar I ever been into (and I tried a decent number of them in Asia and Europe). Don't expect anything close from a Shangri-La experience... Quietness, space, class, some sophistication and high end service (team is nice though), you'll find nothing of this. It's just an Australian pub on the 36th floor. Loud, packed (just missing the horse race on the screen, thanks god...). Half our food never arrived, the other half was atrocious, daring to call a Burrata some poor "galbani" fior de latte... View is nice (if you can sneak above the shoulder of the crowd) and cocktail list, short but original and good...

Excellent view and good service. If you can get there when its less crowded its a plus too. The seating is sparse but if you can get a seat it makes for a good night. Good selection of drinks and some great cocktails.

Wow.......special place for a special person in your life. It's my wife and my 40th wedding anniversary.

A bit underwhelming I found. I walked in with some mates and it was a bit dingy, the music was turned up a bit too much so we couldn't have that good of a chat. There was a party of women who were disturbing the other patrons quite a lot (if that is the clientele they want to have then so be it, but I'd prefer not to spend my hard earned money to be sat next to their blabbing all night.
It took about 10 minutes to get served even though the guy next to me had only ordered two champagnes.
I'll come back and give it a shot again another time.

Visited this place several times before and all was good. But got terrible experience yesterday. The bartender obviously was unexperienced and failed to prepare two portions of The Devil in the shaker. Glasses were half full and he started to add extra ingredients to make them full. The taste was terrible - very sweet and completely different to what it was before. With friends we even didn't finish our cocktails. Not sure if we come again to this place.

We enjoyed a fabulous high tea with a wide range of yummy goodies, bubbly, cocktails and awesome views of Sydney harbour. Great service.

We rejected my guests from having some drinks there because someone in my party was wearing flip flops. A Monday night and the venue is half empty, why would you lose a couple hundred in revenue because of of that.

This is a must. The view is spectacular, it really doesn't need any other explanation.

The cocktails are expensive, the view is OK, the service is decidedly snooty and a little slow.

Table service would greatly increase the efficiency and atmosphere of the venue; however, you are forced to mill around the bar for up to 10 minutes and watch the bartenders flail in their attempts to flair.

Absolutely everything is overpriced ($13-15 for a house pour, $22-26 for cocktails).

Do yourself a favour and visit any of the clearly superior bars in the area; Bulletin Place, Grain Bar, Bistecca. Anywhere is better than this cold, overly pretentious hole in a hotel.

I went for a romantic date and there were children in pijamas running around and dancing to tic tok, playing loud music after 10pm. I asked the staff to talk to their parents but they didn't. Very disappointing for a venue that was once classy.

AMAZING view and a great range of drinks. The perfect spot to relax, especially if you are staying in house. The staff were excellent and slowly moved people towards the "front" adjacent the windows for spectacular views of Sydney. Can be really busy so you may not score a great view straight up......

Nice view, but a service with room for improvement.
The first cocktail was inedible and the waiting list is a secret for itself .. Even when asked, this remained opaque and we were not given a window seat ...!

We will not come again!

Really nice place with a stunning view over Sydney's habour. Prices were stunning too... which i guess was to expect.

I love this place with best views and tasty cocktails.

Best view in sydney, but it needs a bit of face lift.

Stunning view. Had a quick gin. I'm sure I will go back soon. The service was very good.

I visited the blue bar during the Vivid Sydney time and there are some limited cocktail selections, very creative and also tasty And waiters are so nice and caring! Good place to go for business chat or date night with excellent city night view.

super attentive staff who made sure we could sit comfortably with good views Ann's always had water and nuts. We had the best waitress, Iirala (?), who also acted like a moral support and gave honest advice and was fun!

Guys are not allowed in sandals. Girls are. Discrimination.

I have visited this bar as a tradition from the past 15 years with my dear hubby. The cocktails, the views, the service are impeccable! Love this place to bits .

Terrible atmosphere and highly ok views of the harbour

Great views but cocktails are bit of a letdown, stick with beer, wine or spirits. Wait staff told me that cocktail menu was changed recently, hopefully they realise how ordinary the new menu is and update it to reflect past quality. Service is good but slow.

Nice view with good cocktail! We ordered a mocktail and a cocktail. Both look nice and taste nice. The purple one is one of their signature The Opera. Fruity fresh and match with the taste of alcohol.

Amazing view, nice music, great cocktails in the hearth of one of thw nost beautiful cities in the world

Amazing cocktails they will even make some that are not on the menu. Fun with a view and great customers service

Great views, but narrow bar area which was tricky to move about when busy.

Great cocktails, good view and cosy atmosphere. There are a couple of dozen house cocktails that are interesting twists on the classics and the ones I've tasted are really good. They take quite some time to make, so be prepared to wait a bit for drinks. ~$20-$36 for cocktails. Lights are low at night time to preserve the view and set the mood. The queue for the lounge area (with table service and nicer views) is really long during the usual busy periods but there's a fair bit of standing area on there other side.

Situated on the top of the Shangrila la hotel, this is the bar with the best view of Sydney Harbour that there is. A small bar to buy drinks from, you can stand around the bar or at a stool at the window. Or, you put you name down for a table in the next room. This we did and were seated at a table for two at the window with spectacular views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House! What could be better!! Table service for drinks and they have an extensive range of cocktails, wines, beers, whiskey and other spirits.
I got the Yamazurakura which is gin, elderflower liquor, Aperol, lemon juice, grapefruit and egg white. I've always been put off by a cocktail with egg white, but no longer will be, as it makes a good foam! Winner of the worldwide shangrila la cocktail challenge and it was a delicious cocktail. I almost ordered the same one again but decided to try something different. I chose the La'Orange sour vodka, Aperol, orange bitters, orange, lemon juice and egg white in a large glass topped with a cherry. A tangy tasty drink that I also liked a lot. Top cocktails here. Hubby got the Whisky and a whiskey cocktail which he loved!
Look, they aren't cheap but it's totally worth it for date night or an anniversary - a true 5 star experience.

This place is pretty cool. Has a great view of the bridge if you can get a spot in that area, or just of the harbour if you can't. Great drinks. More like a cocktail bar, I think.

I think I did this review already, but still.. It's a must be in Sydney. Amazing view on the whole city.. Drinks are expensive, but the view makes it even..

My favourite cocktail bar in Sydney. Beautiful sweeping views across Sydney harbour, delicious cocktails and a sophisticated yet fun ambience. The perfect place to unwind after a long working week!

The view from the 36th floor is awesome! The service is very friendly. The hight tea highly recommended. Fresh food and good experience.

Swapni andl Daniel made us the most beautiful cocktails all night. Fantastic cocktails and great serive and conversion from these guys. Thanks for making our stay extra special!

Two star only for the view...
Dirty and sticky glass, fancy and pump list but cocktail without character..
What a shame for this beautiful place!

The a hole doorman didn t let me me because I was wearing shorts and a t shirt and I was also a guest at the Shangri La. Next day, I come back and see a white dude wearing the exact same thing as what I was wearing when I was denied. White privilege.

Grand views of Sydney, up-class bar up-class prices. Very impressive though.

Incredible views. Not super friendly staff. Good cocktails

Nice cocktail bar with excellent views of the harbour bridge

Three stars for the view but the menu is absolutely uninteresting, and completely overpriced, probably because the aforementioned location, maybe, but is it worth it ? In my opinion no.

A must do for the great cocktails and the best view on sydney.

I really liked it. A terrifically eclectic range of spirits to choose from and elevated views of the city. What more could one ask for from a late-night city venue?

Awesome view but that's what u pay for... Food very average and not your traditional high tea..

feels like an old out of date place that has lost its shine. this is the location everybody in the world should see. the view is awsome i wanted that fresh night club feel to go with it.