Nightlife in Sydney’s inner west is set to change as hospitality group Odd Culture prepares to open the first bar to be granted a 4am licence in Newtown in more than 100 years.

Odd Culture today revealed plans to transform the cavernous, concrete basement on King Street into Pleasure Club, a 120-seat bar and live music venue set to open late July.

The group has enlisted the help of interior designer Bianca Isgro (known for her work designing the Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre in Marrickville) to create a “playful and expressive” space equally suited to pre-dinner drinks as late night revelry.

“It will be a game changer,” says Odd Culture chief executive officer James Thorpe.

“It will be very different to anything else on that strip at the moment.”

Pleasure Club aims to diversify late night trade in Newtown, which has thus far been constrained to The Bank Hotel and The Marlborough Hotel.

“It will be a warm, inviting, cosy space where you can settle into a corner of the bar at 3am and chat shit with the bartender, or go play pool with your mates,” Thorpe says.

“We’ll be open until 4am trading every night, including Sunday. We’re really hoping to develop Sunday night trade in the area.”

Thorpe, who remains tight-lipped about the food and beverage offering, hints at an unusual line-up of drinks behind the bar. There is talk of an absinthe fountain (as popularised by New York City invite-only bar Bedroom 6) and sherry cocktails (perhaps a cobbler?).

There’s also likely to be a strong selection of natural wine, craft beer and agave spirits.

Any food offering is likely to be minimal, given the lack of kitchen.

“But it’s all yet to be finalised,” Thorpe says.

Much of the inspiration for Pleasure Club comes from the group’s travel to the United States in late 2022, where they experienced “LA weirdness, soulful sounds of Preservation Hall in New Orleans, blues, burlesque and beyond”.

Group operations and entertainment manager Sabrina Medcalf (ex-Frankie’s, The Duke) says she hopes the experience rivals any in “Berlin, LA, NY, whatever”, with a genre-defying line-up of live music acts.

Pleasure Club will be Odd Culture’s fourth in its Sydney portfolio, which includes the eponymous hatted Newtown restaurant. The venue is scheduled to open after the group launches its first Victorian venture - Odd Culture Fitzroy, a wine bar and bottle shop on Melbourne’s Brunswick Street.

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