Visiting the first ever Good Pair Days wine bar and bottle shop in Surry Hills, Sydney, has been high on my wine-drinking bucket list since I first heard about it. In fact it felt a bit surreal walking in, having known them only as an online entity for the last 10 years.
They officially opened their physical doors at 355 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW 2010 in September 2025 – an absolutely epic milestone!
In fact they started out in 2015 (back then they were actually named The Wine Gallery!) and I started collaborating with them in 2016 (which means yes there are affiliate links within this post)!
I’ve done a lot with Good Pair Days over the years via the blog alongside being their freelance SEO specialist via Grand Cru Digital since 2020. And you know what, I am still the biggest fan girl and in full disclosure I am actually a full-paying monthly wine subscriber!
Okay so let’s get stuck in..
Know Before You Go: Good Pair Days Wine Bar
Location: 355 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW (A quick 10-minute, 900m walk up the hill from Central Station).
Opening Hours (please double check via the link above):
- Mon – Tue: 12:00 pm – 9:00 pm
- Wed – Thu: 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm
- Fri – Sat: 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
- Sun: 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Vibe: Modern, warm, and playfully minimalist. Zero wine snobbery here!
Bookings: Walk-ins are highly encouraged, just pull up a seat or browse the bottle shop shelves. Or book online.
Top Tip: Don’t skip the $29 Wine Flights and definitely flip the food menu over to use their epic Food & Wine Pairing Guide.
The location
I literally went straight from Sydney Domestic Airport to Good Pair Days and I was there in less than an hour after my plane touched down!
I simply jumped on the train from the airport to Central Station (3 stops), and then it was about a 10-minute walk (900m approximately) up Foveaux St and you turn left and you’re there.
In all honesty, I wasn’t prepared for the Foveaux St hill, but I guess Surry Hills has to get its name from somewhere. Between the hill and abysmal weather, I well and truly earned what I was going to devour shortly!
The wine bar / store
I had obviously seen pictures online, but I wasn’t totally sure what to expect. However as soon as I strolled in, it had that Good Pair Days vibe all over it – modern, warm, friendly and playfully minimalist.
The fit-out is classic Good Pair Days: accessible, fun, and modern. With its warm lighting, light wood accents, and soft curves, the space trades typical wine-world pretension for a genuinely welcoming vibe.
Needless to say I felt right at home as soon as I walked in. In fact they probably have as much GPD merch as I do at home in VIC!
The wine
If you know Good Pair Days well online, then you know their selection in store is not going to disappoint.
You can order wine by the glass or bottle, and of course you can purchase to take away too.
I was of course dining in and seeing as I was in the mood for something a little different, I opted for one of their ‘Staff Pick Trios’ Wine Flights. There were four to choose from:
- Crisp & Refreshing Whites (zesty, zingy, palate-cleansing trio)
- Textural, Interesting Whites (skins, spice and a little surprise)
- Light & Playful Reds (fresh, vibrant and dangerously drinkable)
- Fuller, Rounder Reds (velvet, spice and big-hug tannins)
All the wine tasting flights are $29. I opted for the Textural Interesting Whites and I was extremely happy with my choice.
I received a decent taste of:
Immediately I noticed the wines were in Riedel glasses, which gets a big tick from me. Yes I am a bit of a wine glass snob, I admit it! However I do strongly believe the type of glass can really impact how a wine tastes – so any venue that uses Riedel gets extra brownie points from me!
And if wine isn’t your thing (a strange thing to say and think, but who knows you may have those types of friends!) there is also beer, cocktails, sake and non-alcoholic options on the drinks menu too.
The food
Firstly lets talk about the menu. In true Good Pair Days fashion they have absolutely nailed it!
I mean who doesn’t want to eat cheese and meat all day long! There are other options on the menu, but honestly I am one happy girl if I have wine, cheese and meat in front of me.
But the best bit about the menu is on the back. Introducing the Pairing Guide.
This little beauty is absolute gold and means that if you don’t want to ask the wonderful staff, you can make sure your food matches wonderfully with the style of wine you are drinking.
I ended up ordering the Loire Valley Goat’s Cheese (Germain Chevre Crottin) which was to die for and the Smoked Wagyu Beef. The total for the two was $33 and easily enough for me for dinner.
Yum! Just thinking back to it makes my mouth salivate.
So, is the Good Pair Days wine bar worth the hype?
Heck yes! I am hanging out for my next trip to Sydney already as I will definitely be hitting up the Good Pair Days wine bar again!
In the meantime though, I will just have to reminisce about it every month when my GPD box of wine arrives!
Oh and one more thing before I wrap this up – I have to mention Ella, the venue manager was an absolute pleasure to chat with.
She gave me the full rundown and was only too happy to answer any of my questions. Plus she recommended this stellar bottle of Domaine Clot de l’Oum ‘Gavatx’ Grenache Blend 2019 which I enjoyed back at my hotel!
My only dislike from the whole evening was the carrier bag at the end – seriously these wine bags are not gentle on your hands when you have a distance to cover!
