Le Foote is a European wine bar and Mediterranean grill at 101 George Street in The Rocks, set inside one of Sydney's oldest buildings. Opened by the Swillhouse group, it holds two separate bars, both pouring cocktails alongside a list of around 300 wines.
Who would love it: drinkers who want a deep wine list, a cocktail option, and a Mediterranean kitchen inside a heritage Rocks pub. Who should skip it: anyone after a cheap, casual counter, since this is a considered room with pricing to match the address.
Broadsheet, writing up the opening, described Le Foote as Swillhouse bringing Mediterranean energy to The Rocks, with the group reworking a historic building into a wine bar, grill, and heritage pub in one. The venue keeps two different bars with original features intact, which gives the room more than one mood across a night.
The wine list is the anchor, running to around 300 bottles with a large by-the-glass and carafe selection, so a visit can move from a glass at the bar to a bottle over dinner. Both bars also pour cocktails, including a signature banana daiquiri and classics like the negroni.
The kitchen leans Mediterranean grill, built for sharing alongside the wine rather than a formal multi-course sit-down, which suits the bar-first layout. Settling in with a glass and a few plates is the way the room is meant to run.
Le Foote sits at 101 George Street at the northern end of The Rocks, a short walk from Circular Quay and the harbour foreshore. That setting makes it an easy stop before or after a walk along the water or a night across the city.
A daily happy hour from 4pm to 6pm keeps an early window accessible, with cheaper cocktails, lager, and wine before the evening pricing sets in. Outside that window the room reads as an upper-mid wine bar rather than a budget local.
The hours run Monday and Tuesday from 5pm to midnight and Wednesday through Sunday from noon to midnight, so it works as a long lunch, an after-work glass, or a late evening. The two-bar layout means there is usually a quieter corner even when the front fills.
The crowd mixes after-work groups, wine-minded drinkers, and visitors drawn by the heritage setting, which keeps the room lively without tipping into a club feel. Booking ahead is the safer plan for dinner, though the bars take walk-ins for a glass.
The building itself is part of the draw, since Swillhouse took one of The Rocks' oldest addresses and kept the original features across its two bars rather than stripping the room back. Broadsheet's coverage framed the result as a heritage pub reworked into a Mediterranean wine bar, which captures the mix of old shell and new kitchen.
The Rocks' own listing describes Le Foote as a Euro wine bar and Mediterranean grill, with the wine program and the by-the-glass range doing as much work as the kitchen. That makes it as workable for a glass at the bar as for a full sit-down meal with a bottle.
For a first visit, the daily 4pm to 6pm happy hour is the easiest entry point, with cheaper cocktails, lager, and wine before the evening rates set in. Starting there and moving to the deeper wine list once the room fills is the way regulars use the two bars.
Practical notes: the noon openings Wednesday through Sunday make it a long-lunch option as well as an evening one, and the Circular Quay location ties it into a harbour walk. Dinner bookings are wise on weekends, though the bars hold space for walk-in drinkers.
As a wine-led room with two bars and a Mediterranean kitchen, Le Foote belongs among Sydney's wine bars rather than its rooftops or dive corners. See where it lands in our guide to the best wine bars in Sydney, and browse more rooms across the best bars in Sydney.
