Dr Goodes has prescribed Paddington pizza, cocktails and disco balls, all to be served up in their Oxford Street boogie lounge.
Paddington’s newest late-night dancefloor has been getting plenty of social media attention recently, with videos popping up of long lines spilling out of the venue. On Saturdays, the bar has been hitting capacity as early as 10pm, and queues out the door have been up to one and a half hours.
The boogie lounge has taken over the old site of El Primo Sanchez, a popular Mexican cocktail bar that packed up and moved to a new Surry Hills location in late 2025.
Since then, the site has sat quietly on the corner of Rosebud Lane and Oxford Street, a relatively subdued stretch of the otherwise bustling road. It also faces the Unicorn Hotel, the once-popular pub that has been closed for the past 18 months and was recently hit with a stop-work order, after unauthorised demolition works were found to have been carried out.
The arrival of Dr Goodes is therefore a welcome addition, injecting some energy into this section of Oxford Street, which has lacked it in recent months. We went down to the new disco lounge to see if it’s worth the hour-long queues and Instagram hype.
A three-in-one venue
Dr Goodes is made up of three different parts: the boogie lounge, the bar and restaurant and the pizza window.
The interiors lean heavily into retro glamour, with vibrant vintage prints, glittering disco balls and moody red lighting setting the tone. My favourite touch is the print of Grace Jones, which had two candles lit in front of it, almost like a shrine to the disco icon.
While it’s billed as a boogie lounge (not a nightclub), Dr Goodes leans into its after-dark identity from 9pm Wednesday through Saturday, when the dancefloor takes centre stage. The venue stays open until midnight on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays. They’ll host regular DJ programming each Thursday, Friday and Saturday starting from sunset to late.
Its 3am licence is undoubtedly one of its biggest drawcards, particularly for those chasing a late-night destination. In Sydney, those kinds of trading hours are typically reserved for larger clubs, making it refreshing to see a more intimate venue pairing DJs and a compact dancefloor with the same after-hours appeal.
The restaurant and bar are open from 4pm to 9pm, Wednesday through Saturday, serving the full food and cocktail menu with sit-down dining available.
If you’re after something more casual, the venue’s pizza window operates Tuesday through Saturday: place your order via the touchscreen outside and collect it from the window when it’s ready. Online ordering is also available for takeaway pickup.
Popcorn cocktails and prawn pizzas
Their wood-fired pizza is fresh and doughy, and toppings range from margarita, Hawaiian and pepperoni to the more exciting “prawn saganaki” and “the reuben” (wagyu pastrami, cabbage, gruyère and pickles). These are priced between $23 and $28. They also serve up snacks and sides like pizza puffs ($11.50), fries ($11.50) and an espresso martini cornetto ($11.50)
For drinks, the bar team is offering up tap beers, a decent wine list and an array of classic and funky cocktails. Among the standouts is the Jolene, which combines bourbon, Luxardo, buttered popcorn and salted citrus into a sweet-savoury concoction that tastes exactly like freshly popped popcorn.
They’re also serving up classic favourites, including espresso martinis ($22), aperol spritzes ($19), spicy margs ($22) and a yuzu and peach gin collins ($21).
Weekly deals
$19.90 all-you-can-eat pizza
One of the most exciting things about Dr Goodes is their weekly deals.
On Wednesday, they’re offering up all-you-can-eat pizza for $19.90. You’ll have a one-hour booking slot to enjoy slice after slice with mates, and can also grab a drink for $10 extra (making the whole sit-down just $29.90).
49% off drinks on Thursdays
Dr Goodes is trying to bring back the post-work drinking culture, offering 49% off drinks from 4pm to 7pm every Thursday. Considering most happy hours last from 4pm to 5:30pm, you’ll be able to actually fit in a decent amount of discounted drinks before the offer ends.
Friday happy hour
To wrap up the week, Dr Goodes will offer $15 margaritas and $15 margherita pizzas from 4pm-6pm, which you can enjoy before heading into the boogie lounge for an end-of-work-week boogie.
The verdict
Dr Goodes delivers on the four nightlife pillars I think are most important: food, drinks, value and atmosphere.
The food is simple but high quality and the exact kind of thing you want when you’re out for drinks: unfussy, shareable and tasty. The drinks list is equally versatile, covering everything from cocktails, beer and wine to staples like a $17 vodka Red Bull, ensuring there’s something for every mood and occasion.
I would definitely make the most of their Wednesday to Friday deals. While prices are in line with what you’d expect from a Sydney bar outside deal periods, the Wednesday-to-Friday offers represent genuine value. Better yet, they’re available at sociable hours rather than forcing you to choose between an early bird special and a decent night out.
Then there’s the atmosphere. The DJ-led dancefloor provides plenty of opportunity for a boogie, while the venue’s layout also caters to those looking for a more relaxed evening. Whether you’re keen to dance until close or simply settle in with a drink and good company, Dr Goodes strikes a balance that’s surprisingly hard to find.
You best believe I will be making an imminent appearance at Dr Goodes on a Wednesday, to see how many slices of pizza I can consume in one sitting.
