Welcome to our end of year series of interviews with the people behind the award-winning bars from this year’s Boothby Best Bars Awards program. Next up, Charlie Lehman, co-owner of Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern in Sydney, which took home the title of the All Time Great NSW 2025 presented by Club Suntory at the Boothby Best Bars NSW Awards back in June.
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Ignore what you read anywhere else on the internet and on social media — Sydney bar Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern is the true and original five star dive bar, as Charlie Lehmann (who owns the bar along with fellow founders Sebastian Cosmo Soto and Dardan Shervashidze) says below.
The bar has been a favourite of the Sydney hospo scene since it got its start back in the heady days of the 2010s, opening in 2014 with an emphasis on democratising cognac and selling ‘shit tinnies’ of lager for $6 a pop. As Charlie says, it’s a place where everyone is welcome, and over the years they have managed to popularise the only bar rule worth enforcing: ‘Don’t be a dick.’
Long may Rascals reign.
Below, lightly edited and condensed for clarity, we asked Charlie to weigh in on the bar’s success, how they’re approaching an uncertain economic climate for bars, and what they’re looking forward to in 2026.
BOOTHBY: In your opinion, what is it about Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern that continues to resonate with the bar industry?
CHARLIE LEHMANN: Rascal is a something-for-everyone type of bar, that’s the beauty of dive bars. There’s no pretence here about who you are, how you’re perceived or what you drink. Rascal is a haven where the only rule is “Don’t be a dick.”