The impressive personal wine collections of chefs and close mates Nathan Sasi and Morgan McGlone form the backbone of this small Surry Hills bar, with more than 300 bottles offered in the company of irresistible French-inspired snacks and share plates.
Regulars love to sit either at the bar or the small round euro tables inside, but on a nice sunny day with a cool breeze, the outdoor tables are in high demand – and from the food menu they keep ordering anchovy crostini, pigs head fritti and the King George sambo, finishing off with Amaro creme caramel.
They had strong ideas to build on. Sasi created Leigh Street Wine Room in Adelaide, focusing on natural wines to accompany his creative food. Now he’s working with sommelier and bar co-owner Christian Robertson to present an inclusive list of more than 300 wines, including a huge catalogue of back-vintages. “We showcase classic and modern Australian producers who make nothing but tasty wine, regardless of it being natural or conventional.”
The snack-laden menu carries a European style with a strong French influence, with dishes including Bluefin tuna belly with soy and mustard dressing, pickled kohlrabi, fermented chilli and fresh horseradish, or crisp eggplant served with tomato jam and salted ricotta. “Some people love to come in for a few small snacks and a glass of wine, others will fill their table with all the shared plates and a good bottle – or perhaps they’ll opt for the set menu. The thing we love to see the most – and it happens a lot in our venue – is when two adjoining tables are strangers at the start of the night and end up sharing a bottle of wine and dessert together as great mates. That, for us, is the Midas moment.”
Music frames the experience, with the soundtrack curated by Nathan that encapsulates genres from Hip-Hop, Disco to Easy Rock and Soul. “You’d be surprised how many times a night we are asked for the playlist.”
Matthew Swieboda has made more than a little impact on the Sydney drinking scene, with his iconic Love, Tilly Devine refashioning what Sydneysiders drank and how they drank it. That swing from the formal to the personal, from the conventional to the artisanal, was given further flight with his collaboration with Nathaniel Hatwell at Dear…
Sommelier Stuart Knox got his start in the wine game after begging to be promoted from waiter to sommelier at London institution Bibendum, Terence Conran’s first restaurant. Three years later, and the young Knox had quite the education after handling the 1500-bin wine list (compiled by Matthew Jukes at the time) and a discerning clientele…
On the banks of the Murrumbidgee River, in a beautiful quiet valley at Jugiong in central New South Wales, The Sir George Hotel stands as an oasis between Sydney and Melbourne.
While this grand old pub was established in 1854, the current Sydney-based owners – general manager and wine buyer Leonie Sassall and executive chef Anthony Davis – bought the business in 2021 and introduced new energy and vision. “We are endeavouring to make this pub a food and beverage destination in addition to offering 5-star accommodation in an award-winning garden setting,” says Sassall.
Please sign in or create account as candidate to bookmark this job
Please sign in or create account to save this search
Please sign in or create account as candidate to create a resume
