This is a comfortable rooftop bar above Hotel Steyne overlooking Manly beach with a fun…read morenautical/pirate theme with swinging lanterns, crate wood furniture, caged glass bottles with fresh dripping candle wax, and ship sails adorning the ceiling with images of bar regulars who resemble sea captians. We were served from the cider-and-rum-only bar by a friendly, helpful bartender who totally looked the part! Delicious drinks, great atmosphere and not too pricey for the location. I highly recommend.

Upstairs at the Hotel Steyne, Moonshine brings its concept alive with murals of vintage…read morephotographs, sea faring craft, steel hanging lanterns and sea bottles strategically laid out in cages as if they have been discarded from a big night before. Big thick rope hangs from ceilings and walls. There a upraised chairs similar to those found on old ships and wooden beaming running throughout. Moonshine specialises in 16 ciders on tap and over 100 rums. It opened on September 1st and we are there on a Sunday evening and its heaving with the summer keen in platforms, denim cutoffs and mini skirts. The night is reggae and the crowd is enjoying the beats. We grab our Batlow Cider's (look out for these folks they are very good Summer beverage) and settle for a wooden crate to enjoy the music. Its a nice and much needed change from the Shore Club, Sugar Reef, Wharf Bar and the likes even if the same demographics grace Moonshine with their presence. Im not sure if this crowd will appreciate the variety of rums but its location is premium on Manly beachfront and Im sure the masses will be rollicking in this bar for summer 2011/2012.

Fantastic service and truly excellent food. This has it all beautiful outdoor seating with an…read moreoceanfront view, stellar food, and wine and excellent service.

Was visiting the beach and needed some grub so I could have energy to dodge all of the bluebottles…read more After looking at Hemingway's menu online, it definitely fit the bill for me. It is literally right across from the beach but still away from the main tourist drag. I took a seat on the beautiful patio and ordered a cider and a salade niçoise and a fondant au chocolat for dessert. The food was fantastic. The salad was great and had that bright, salty bite you expect from salade niçoise. Two complaints though are that the portion was quite small and the pricing was quite high. My dessert was also quite good. Creamy, chocolatey, and just the right amount of sweetness without going overboard. The food paired with the Manly Beach people watching was a great experience and start to a nice beach day.

Great food and beer with a friendly crowd and staff team right across from the ferry dock.read more

Hubby and I were waiting on the ferry when we spotted 4 Pines Brewing Company. We naturally headed…read moreover for a pint. We found an open table on the upstairs outdoor patio with a gorgeous view of Manly Wharf. The bar staff took our order and poured our beers quickly. This location was perfect for an afternoon beer!

What a great introduction to Manly Beach! Amazing views, delicious drinks and yummy food!…read more This rooftop bar/restaurant is above the more traditional Hotel Steyne. And the 2 are very different. And you might love both depending on your mood. My niece was super excited to see all the different gins. I was excited to see an old fashioned (with a twist of course) on their drink menu. Service was great and everything was delicious. Highly recommended.

Great range of beers, I'm impressed. I like the choice upstairs, but a quiet vibe with little…read moreatmosphere. I liked the food also, the buffalo wings were great as were the buffalo burgers with Frank's Hot Sauce. I'd recommend the place with a good group of people.

Service is questionable. My fish taco tasted spoiled. Bathrooms were the worst and most filthy I…read morehave seen in Australia- which is the cleanest country I have visited. Just saying we won't be back. EVER.

I was expecting something different...... something that felt inner west but wasn't ....... But as…read moreit worked out I did enjoy visiting Donny's as a pop in and few drinks sort of pass through. The cocktails were fun and beers were a good change featuring a few local ones but it felt like too many wines bars I had visited over the years ....... I guess half the challenge is looking for that venue that feels like an old shoe, comfortable and somewhere you want to spend a long time in.

Weekend happy hour?! Yes please. EVERYDAY from 5-7. I think the HH was 1/2 price signature…read morecocktails. Great dark space for an intimate feel but roomy enough that our big group was able to wander around and be comfortable. I believe on the Sunday afternoon when I was there, the patio bar was not open. But the crowd was small. I know I tried their espresso martini (without the dates since they had missed a delivery) and the Angry Pirate. I think our group went through all the drinks... and some beers and some ciders. Some folks had snacks but not me. Everything did look delicious. The folks who lived nearby said the food is very good.

The Charlie Bar is an old friend with a new face having had a complete overhaul in 2009 it is now a…read morepleasant space to have a drink that takes advantage of its location with lots of sunshine, hanging seats and bi-folding doors that can open to take the sea air in. Not that it wasnt before though in this area of beautiful furniture it used to be the tiles that we pounded for live bands. It's a great place to linger and at night it comes alive with music and dancing. The cocktails are great though I advise you get them made at the bar that is near the hotel reception as the young ladies and men in the Charlie Bar can get run off their feet looking for all those numbers on tables who have ordered drinks. Verdict: Sane and classy outfit to enjoy a wonderful afternoon into the evening.

Charlie Bar is a newcomer on the Manly nightlife scene, but has certainly made a place for itself…read morein the hearts of many locals. Located on the bottom floor of the Novotel Hotel Manly, it's what you'd expect in a bar affiliated with a high-end hotel: it's chic and sleek, a definite step up from some of Manly's other night life. The bar is beautiful - white-tiled floors, exposed wood and my favourite, chairs that hang from the ceiling. You've gotta be quick for these bad boys - every person in the bar has a quiet eye on them, looking for an opportunity to pounce! The drinks are pretty standard, and of a pretty normal price. If you're in Manly of an afternoon, head to happy hour for $5 beers, wine and champagne. Charlie Bar attracts a youngish, well dressed and well coiffed crowd who love a drink and a dance - on Saturday nights, what was seating becomes a dancefloor. Unlike the crowded dance floors of elsewhere in Manly, this is the perfect place to have a boogy with your girlfriends!

Perhaps I shouldn't be declaring that I've actually had a night out here...It's something ever so…read moreslightly looked down upon by central Sydneyers!! The grottiness? The sweaty old leery men? The aging rock bands headlining there? The underage and wasted teenagers? What's not to love?! No, I did actually have a great night here as I love a good grotty night, you know? The ones where no-one is posing or taking themselves too seriously and are just out to have a good time and make a lot of noise. It's a tiny little place but the prime watering hole for anyone that's ever spent a night in Manly. Worth a visit just for the comedy of the whole thing!

Full disclosure: I only ever go to The Old Manly Boatshed for Monday night comedy. They actually…read morehave awesome bands on there too and I always think, "I'd love to see *whoever* over here for a change", but it's a ferry across the harbour for me so I generally stick to my side of the water when I'm going to music gigs. I love the venue though, it's cosy and friendly and it's been going strong for around 20 years from what I can gather - I have been infrequently frequenting it for about 7. I always get a pizza of course (what can I say, I LOVE PIZZA!) and the pizza is really good but the chef's home made crushed chilli paste/sauce is to die for. I discovered this by accident and he's not even famous for it but he totally should be. I always ask for chilli on my pizza and just expected the usual flakes or if I was lucky fresh chopped chilli. What I received was chillis grown in a fairy grotto, delicately stomped on by angels and spread over my pizza via the surface of a rainbow. Go there and order anything and ask for chilli, that's all I'm saying. The comedy's always fun, the crowd wander in a bit late sometimes which can be disruptive but the acts always manage to settle things down and the venue has a really friendly, cosy basement vibe that I often find lacking in snobby Sydney. You know what to do!

Great Happy Hour: 2 for one cocktails! Espresso Wolftini:…read morepeanut butter whiskey is a great touch! Apple crumble: sweeter drink, dessert ! Cute bar and light music playing! Friendly service !

Walking around Manly one evening we noticed one place that seemed really packed compared to…read moreeverything around. That place was In Situ, we took the crowd as a vote of confidence and decided to have dinner there the next night. We were not disappointed! The place is adorable, with lots of plants and a very upscale boho vibe. We were eating early, around 5 pm and many of the tables were already reserved so I would recommend calling in advance for a reservation. They have a generous happy hour from 4-7pm which had $10 cocktails, discounted beer, discounted appetizers, and half off pizzas. The lychee Martini was fantastic and the goat cheese pizza was the best pizza we have had in Australia by a long shot! It was sweet and rich and had a great mix of flavors. I would love to go back to try more items on the menu.

When I moved to the northern beaches from the inner west I was worried about my distance from…read moreLeichhardt and Haberfield. How was I going to get my quality Italian food fix, I worried? I needn't have, as it turns out. De Vita, right in the heart of Manly, delivered wood-fired Napoli-style pizza that delivered on all counts. There was a wide choice but I settled on the Contadina: pancetta, wood-fire-roasted potatoes, and fior di latte cheese. Very thin and flavourful. My wife had the Regina (cherry tomatoes, fior di latte cheese, prosciutto, rocket, Parmesan, olive oil, basil) and proclaimed it delicious. The calamari starter we shared was large but lightly battered, with fresh, tender squid chunks. The wine list looked good, but we brought our own as they're also BYO. The atmosphere and surroundings are OK; It's quite open to the street (at least during warmer weather) which is good if you like buzzy going-on, not so much if you want quiet romance. Service was quick, friendly, and happy to make recommendations. Pizza fix: acquired.

What. The. [...]. Manly…read more People are queuing 20 minutes for a tiny, average tasting $20 hot dog. Cafes serving glorified couscous salads at four times its market value are at 80% occupancy. Lukewarm, bitter coffee gets top rated and queues round the block. And somehow, I come to De Vita at lunchtime on a weekday and we are the only customers bar another table. This restaurant is fantastic. When the lunch special - all pizze at $15 - is on, it is even more fantastic. This is proper Neapolitan pizza, made to order, with ingredients that aren't bottom shelf Coles. I mean, there is not much else to say - if you know what Neapolitan pizza is, you will know, if you don't, I can't describe it in a way that would bring it across. It bears little resemblance to Domino's. At $15, on the overpriced Sydney market, you are almost robbing them. To be a fair reviewer, I have to add that the spaghetti gamberi were pretty average. Lacking in taste and salt, not the best prawns, small-ish portion. This is most definitely a pizzeria and that's what you should order (and an espresso afterwards). The service is Italian, that means efficient and a little direct, and the smile will be a little dry. This does not mean they do not like you. It's just how things are in Italy and the guys haven't quite adjusted to the matey Australian ways. Perhaps it is that it is on a side street, not on the Corso. Perhaps they need to hang a fixie upside down at the back and buy some tables made of century old wreckage wood fished out by divers wearing copper diving bells ironically. Perhaps what Australians (and the tourists and WHV expats that, to be honest, form 90% of Manly residents) want when they order a pizza is thick undercooked dough covered in low quality fat and protein, and they are surprised not to get that. Perhaps nobody reads TripAdvisor anymore (where they are in the top 10 restaurants for Manly, which is how I found them). I don't know. I don't care. Just go.