Sydney has a new subterranean playground for live music, DJs, Champagne and cocktails. Tiva is a sophisticated late-night basement lounge with curated live music at the forefront. It’s located at 68 King Street, hidden away underneath its sister venues, The Charles Grand Brasserie & Bar.
Make your way underneath the cityscape and discover an underground hive where the stage is taken by global acts, well-known and emerging local live musicians, and DJ talent. Catch a diverse mix of live music and singing performers across jazz, soul, RnB, folk, and New Orleans dance from Wednesday to Saturday as well as DJs 7 nights a week.
Entertainment curator, Dan Lywood of music consultancy Playlister FM (Chateau Marmont; Chiltern Firehouse) describes Tiva as the luxe, high calibre live music and DJ venue that Sydney’s CBD has been missing. “Expect the cream of the country’s players and international guests presenting live music four nights a week, alongside a diverse and exciting roster of established and up and coming DJ talent. Guests can drop in any night of the week and are guaranteed to see and hear a seriously accomplished act.”
Director of bars, Jonothan Carr (About Time, The Gidley, The Rover, Grandma’s Bar) says drinks focus on an extensive Champagne choice served in coupette glassware, premium and top shelf spirits by the glass and bottle, and distinctive cocktails with a Tiva twist. To complement the live music vibes, tequila and other agave spirits lead the cocktail list, with Carr noting the tequila martini with rose vermouth, shaken and poured tableside, as a highlight. “Tiva is a place you want to settle in to enjoy the music. High-end spirits, elegant cocktails, Champagne, and table service with some understated theatre are the ultimate support act to the incredible entertainment planned.”
Cocktail classics get a Tiva touch. The espresso martini is made in and poured from an elaborate French press. And an old fashioned with single malt whiskey and cognac is served tableside in a three-piece, bottle-shaped decanter. The bartender unstacks the pair of iced glassware then pours the carefully made old fashioned from the ‘bottle top’ right in front of you.
There’s a playlist of lounge snacks if all that music (and maybe even dancing) works up an appetite. Delicious one-bite options include hashbrowns with roasted chicken cream, and mussels with whipped roe wrapped in nori. Larger snacks range from steak tartare with housemade crumpets and smoked lardo di colonnata to a crumbed Moreton Bay bug sandwich and a shaved wagyu sirloin with black garlic and wasabi. Of course, the Tiva caviar service is also on offer.
H&E Architects, in collaboration with COX, have created a space inspired by the ethereal underground world of cities, a subterranean space where luxury elements give the impression that they have been carved out. The softly lit stairs down into Tiva are a juxtaposition of refined and crude materiality – a dash of theatre in the rough luxe approach into the subterranean basement lounge. Once inside, a colour palette of rich navy, black, polished and blackened steel detailing come through in layered textures of leather, marble, dichroic glass and abstract art. Banquette-style lounge seating and beautifully curved enclaves create intimacy but allow for the full sensorial curated experience that is Tiva.
The performance stage, large enough for a four-piece band, is positioned for all areas of the space and the stunning 11-metre-wide bar is central to the room. A Martin Audio sound system creates an impeccably even sound throughout the 440 sqm space and DJs have two Technics 1210 vinyl turntables, two Pioneer CDJ 3000s, and a Pioneer DLM 900 mixer at their fingertips.
Incredible music talent seven nights a week makes Tiva an ideal destination whether you’re setting into one of the beautiful banquettes for the evening, popping in for an after-work cocktail, or dropping by post dinner at The Charles for a nightcap.
Tiva
Basement, 68 King Street, Sydney
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Tiva is open 6 days from 4pm until late. DJs 7 days a week, live performers Wednesday – Saturday.
Walk-ins welcome and group bookings available.
