Minsky’s the place to look for love

MOSMAN is not known for its pumping nightlife but locals would agree that Minsky’s lounge bar at Cremorne Hotel is the most famous “pick-up” venue on the lower North Shore.

Affectionately known as the “piano man”, John Watson has entertained crowds at Minsky’s into the wee hours for the past 22 years.

Watson said Minsky’s attracted loved-up couples, singles desiring to meet their lifelong partner and those wishing to canoodle under dimmed lights, every weekend.

“It’s the place to go to meet people ... there’s no snobbery or pretentiousness,” Watson said.

“A couple came up from Melbourne two years ago - they were just good friends, she wasn’t that interested in him but they had such a good time at Minsky’s they ended up falling in love.”

Although some would laugh inwardly or perhaps recoil a little if they were to retell how they met at Minsky’s, Mr Watson said high profile couples such as Angela Bishop and her husband met there and Princess Mary was spotted around the piano before her rendez-vous with hubby, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark at the Slip Inn in 2000.

Watson said he wasn’t cupid but he liked the idea of inspiring romance.

“I do like the legacy I’m passing on - you get couples who start the night on different sides of the room but soon they’re in each other’s arms, singing at the piano,” he said.

He recalled a gentleman grabbed the mic one night and proposed to his girlfriend and also told of a taxi driver who joked he only went to Minsky’s once because after that he wound up with a wife and three children.

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Mosman Daily 9.12.09

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