11

251 Bondi Rd, Bondi,

(02) 9130 2894,

odebar.com

6 Chalder Ave, Marrickville,

NSW, (02) 9557 2282,

poortomsgin.com.au

Ode

Natural wine by the carafe. Mecca

co ee. A charcoal grill. This charming

café-bar-restaurant is many things at

di erent hours. Breakfast includes

Iggy’s toast with soft-boiled eggs

and smoky eggplant, while aperitivo

might mean a glass of unfi ned Rosso

Masieri from Veneto accompanied

by mussels on toast. Ode chef

Ben Abiad has clocked time at

Dear Sainte Éloise and Sean’s,

so you can rest assured that pasta

dishes such as cacio e pepe with

anchovy, and Parma-ham agnolotti

in parmesan broth have soul.

What to order: The wine list celebrates

lesser-known minimal-intervention

Italian, French and Australian wine.

Try something new.

Poor Toms Gin Hall

This white-washed gin hall in the

industrial back streets of Marrickville

isn’t exactly a place you’d stumble

across, but those who do are well

rewarded. “People who fi nd us

have made an e ort to be here,”

says co-owner GriŠ n Blumer.

“We wanted the bar to refl ect

that.” Mission accomplished:

Poor Toms feels more like a house

party than a gin palace. There’s

an illuminated shrine to their patron

saint, Ginsus, the toilet is in the

style of a confession booth, there’s

a Sunday sausage sizzle, and dinner

comes courtesy of neighbouring

restaurant Pizza Madre.

What to order: The three house

gins are showcased in Martinis

and Gin & Tonics, and there’s also

an eau de vie made with cider

from foraged roadside apples. 

Above: scallops

with rosemary

and anchovies,

and mussels on

toast with drinks

at Ode. Below:

the Marrickville

at Poor Toms

Gin Hall.

13 O’Brien St,

Bondi Beach,

(02) 9365 4134,

rosenbaumandfuller.com

Rosenbaum & Fuller

Slated to open as we go to press,

Rosenbaum & Fuller sounds like

a beach bar we can get behind.

Cocktail bartender Lee Potter

Cavanagh wants to give Sydney

“real wine, honest food and fair

co ee”, no matter what the hour.

“We have plenty of great cafés

and bars, but very few that

cater all day and night,” he

says. Daytime trade can enjoy

Edition co ee and easy classics

such as pumpkin scones, or at

happy hour, $6 Poor Toms Gin

& Tonics and Australian wine.

What to order: Cocktails pay tribute

to some of the country’s best

cooks. Make ours a Shewry Gin

Fizz with banana and green ants.

Bar Topa

This bolthole on Palings Lane is inspired by the

tapas bars of Spain. Oil paintings crowd the walls,

legs of jamón hang proudly above the bar, and

whipped salt-cod dip, Gildas and sardines are plated

up with nothing more than a point and a por favor.

Martinis and Negronis are served as half-pours

(for $8) and there’s Sangria on tap and Basque wine

to accompany the likes of botifarra a la plancha.

What to order: The half-Martinis are hard to beat,

but grab one of the excellent steak sandwiches

on a bun before they beat you.

4 Palings La, Sydney

(02) 9114 7368,

merivale.com

GOURMET TRAVELLER 81

PHOTOGRAPHY NIKKI TO ¤BAR TOPA¥.