Want to see where the celebrities and A-listers party? Dan Kaufman pounds the pavement - and braves the door policies - to unveil Sydney's most exclusive nightclubs.
Secret passwords, hidden revolving walls and underground passages: these might sound like elements from a spy thriller but they're actually part of Sydney's members' club scene.
Just when you thought bars couldn't get any harder to get into, there's a whole new level of nightlife where looking glam often isn't enough for entry. Instead, you need to be a celebrity, a friend of the owner or a serious mover and shaker - or, like us, up for a challenge. Here is the Metro's guide to Sydney's most exclusive clubs.
White Revolver
There's an innocent-looking wine bar on Bondi Beach called Thru the Grapevine but all is not what it seems. Look carefully and you'll notice a keyhole in one wall that, when unlocked, revolves to reveal a passageway leading underground to White Revolver, a late-night club decorated with antique furniture.
According to James Hudson, White Revolver's co-owner, membership is free but can only be obtained through personal invitation. ''A lot of people do get angry … that they can't get in but it's not about wanting to deny people; it's about wanting to create a space we want to be a part of,'' Hudson says. ''It is to ensure our core followers and guests are well looked after. For our celebrity friends, Revolver is not a place 'to be seen' - rather it is a place not to be seen. [It's] somewhere intimate where they can let their hair down without the prying eyes of the paparazzi.''
Non-members can sometimes come in but entry is at the discretion of the door host and costs $20 upwards, whereas it's free for members. I was allowed in without any problems - but the two glamazons on either side of me helped my cause.
Tatlers
169 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst. See tatlers.com.au
It's not a members' club but Tatlers is one of the hardest establishments to get into. I have spent years failing to get past its wrought-iron gates and the reason, according to the owner, is that you can only get in if you're part of a private party - and the party organiser has been vetted in person.
Parties range from birthday bashes to private functions - however, Tatlers regulars can often join in. ''Once we get to know you, then there is no problem arriving at the door without notice, unless it is a unique style of party taking place,'' the owner says.
Shh!
Mansion Lane, Kings Cross. See shh-speakeasy.com
Held at the back of Le Panic, an upmarket Kings Cross club on Bayswater Road, Shh! has its own entrance at the end of a dingy back alley. There you'll find a seedy red light, a bolted door and an intercom - and if you don't have the password the owners SMS-ed you, then you're probably out of luck.
Despite acquiring the owner's mobile number from an acquaintance, I still couldn't get the password. Expecting rejection, I turn up on a Saturday night anyhow and strike it lucky - there's a private party winding down, leaving the place empty. The bouncers quiz me on my intentions, look carefully at the attractive woman on my arm and finally decide to let us in if we pay $20 each.
Inside we find ourselves in a quiet and classy looking bar with a '50s Rat Pack feel, complete with curtained-off alcoves, paintings, antlers hanging from the red walls, a padded bar counter and a reality TV chef who passes us on his way out now that the party's over.
Beach Haus
5 Roslyn Street, Potts Point
Inspired by the Hamptons (think blond wood-panelling and staff wearing '50s-style country club uniforms), Beach Haus has just opened where Barons used to be.
The entrance looks like it belongs to an apartment building and members are given swipe cards to get in (membership costs aren't finalised but will be about $50 a month).
The upstairs area feels like a hotel lobby, albeit one with a DJ and cocktail bar. Instead of being dark and moody, this is relatively bright and features pastel seats, white lounges and hostesses delivering drinks on trays.
For those with money to burn, a crystal ''drink vessel'' and set of platinum straws (custom-made by a jeweller for the nightclub) valued about $5000 that will soon be available for purchase. Otherwise, settle in with a giant conch-like metal cocktail cup that serves two. As for getting in: to be honest, I only managed it by talking to the publicist first.
Level 6
Level 6, 330 George Street, Sydney
It's hard enough to become a member of its Pool Club but now Ivy has Level 6, a more exclusive spot with a $5500 annual membership fee that's invite only.
I know I won't be let in but, in the name of journalism and voyeurism, I sneak up to level 6 of the Ivy building and knock on a dark door. A man in a tux opens it and, when he realises I'm not invited, politely refuses to let me in despite my squeals. As the door closes in my face I quickly glimpse what I imagine Hugh Hefner's apartment would have looked like before he built the Playboy mansion.
I later contact Ivy, who say Level 6's members are mainly corporate types, although some celebrities (most recently Lady Gaga and George Michael) go there as well. They also say there's a strict no media - and no Metro - policy in place.
De Nom
231 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst
Designed to look like a room from the Palace of Versailles, complete with silk-tented ceilings, velvet day beds and gold gilt-edged mirrors, this was once arguably Sydney's most exclusive club.
Charging $10,000 a year for membership (which includes access to a private room hidden behind a revolving bookcase), this was a common after-party locale for celebrities.
These days De Nom has wound down a little: it's only open on Friday and Saturday nights and it's no longer offering memberships, although existing members are still treated like VIPs.
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