THE CAT’S MEOW

The Cats Meow – housed within the stunning Heritage Building by Architects Sheerin & Hennessy, built in 1911, is an exploratory adventure into Sydney’s dark and glamorous past. 

We set out to capture this essence, and the best ingredients that shaped Sydney’s infamous Darlinghurst over the decades, distilled into a venue that captures the imagination, asks for no forgiveness, passes no judgement and celebrates the provocative.

In 1887 there were 22 hotels in the suburb of Darlinghurst, the vast majority of these being in the valley between Bourke and Yurong streets. The mix of poor and posh, criminal and respectable, landlord and tenant, families and singles contributed to Darlinghurst’s appeal and its chequered reputation. Darlinghurst has battled through Sydney’s history to become one of its favoured suburbs. A criminal past has been largely forgiven, although it’s not altogether forgotten.

Darlinghurst was once the entertainment precinct of Sydney, this reality is something that has faded dismally in the past two decades, a suburb with so much history, where so many characters have contributed to its infamy, a place that holds hundreds of years of memories. 

This project seeks to be aid in bringing a touch of the best back to life…. adding new life back to the golden mile.

The Cats Meow is a nod to the past, a new drinking playground, a place that’s reclaiming Sydney’s Grit and Polish.

A place that’s ‘Beautifully Dark’.

For us it is very important not to set out to recreate something of the past in a literal sense. We don’t want to ever create a themed product per se, in this instance, we wanted to capture the best components and ideals of what was happening locally and abroad in the 1920’s and acknowledge the current market and desired future market of Sydney’s hospitality scene going forward. 

It is not just about relying on aesthetic cues, the Cat’s Meow strives to capture the movement behind the roaring 20’s and the 2020’s.