Justin Hemmes' Rose Bay revamp

If aliens landed their spaceship on the Rose Bay foreshore on a late summer afternoon and took a bunch of photos (or inscribed 4D images into their 16 retinas with lithium lasers, or whatever), they'd return to their home planet with a pretty accurate idea of what it is to be a Sydneysider. Soft light sparkling on the sea. Joggers with groodles. Glossy-haired women power-walking in coffee-coloured activewear. Kids clambering over playground equipment or arcing a fishing line over the retaining wall to catch flatheads. It's all just lovely. Say what you like about this city's drab and dying nightlife; we really do daylight hours in the outdoors so very, very well.

The one essential bit of intel the aliens wouldn't have been exposed to, at least until recently, is Sydney's love of a proper pub or club. That all changed in mid-December when Justin Hemmes landed his own Merivale spaceship on the former Rose Bay RSL, reinventing it as a multi-venue food, drink and entertainment space, Club Rose Bay.

The aliens really ought to make a special trip, because the spidey senses that have seen Hemmes become the most powerful figure in Australian hospitality means he's created what might be the most Sydney of Sydney venues, in this quintessentially Sydney spot.

The original Rose Bay RSL first stood on this prime waterfront address in 1947. It went through several renovations, though I remember it feeling drab and unloved on my last visit around 15 years ago. In 2024 it fell into voluntary administration, before members voted to allow Merivale to take over hospitality operations in January 2025, with the club's board retaining control of governance and oversight. That means it still fundamentally operates as an RSL – the signs asking you to remove your hat, the standing for the 6pm Ode of Remembrance – only with a new coating of Merivale gloss.