Fire, wood, and charcoal are at the heart of Poetica, a new bar and grill by Etymon Projects that opens this week in North Sydney.

Etymon Projects is the hospitality group behind The Charles Grand Brasserie & Bar; Loulou Bistro, Boulangerie & Traiteur, and Tiva.

Along one side of the 120-seat light-filled restaurant is an impressive 700-bottle wine wall, glass-fronted dry-ageing cabinets, and a 15-metre-long open kitchen featuring a Josper charcoal oven and custom wood-burning hearth. This faces floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors opening out to four intimate outdoor dining terraces.

The adjoining 40-person bar and its outdoor terrace are home to cocktails that celebrate Australian ingredients.

“The concept for Poetica was to create a bar and grill that reflects the refined and relaxed style of contemporary Sydney dining,” said Sebastien Lutaud, director of culinary for Etymon Projects.

“A welcoming vibe that works as well for entertaining clients over lunch as a dinner with friends or a drink after-work. We’re excited for Poetica to join North Sydney’s growing dining scene.”

Head chef Connor Hartley-Simpson developed a passion for preserving during his time as head chef at Sweden’s two-Michelin star Gastrologik.

The delicate sweetness of scallops is combined with the freshness of yuzu kosho (fermented Australian yuzu peel and chilli), yuzu juice, and thinly sliced celery for textural crunch. Hints of pickled lemon are in the broadbean salad with ricotta while pickled Biquinho peppers add a pop of sweetness and acidity to wood-fired sugar loaf cabbage, smoky grilled butter, and fried garlic.

There are also plenty of grilled fish options and smoky, slow-cooked big meats, with an ever-changing range of whole sirloins, T-bones and tomahawks hanging in the dry-aging cabinet, sliced in-house and served in a variety of ways.

Poetica’s Australian drinks focus

There are 450 mostly Australian wines on the list at Poetica, spanning classics through to young and new wave winemakers, including an exceptional back vintage of iconic winemakers. 

Director of wine, Paolo Saccone (The Charles Grand Brasserie & Bar; Loulou Bistro; Mimi’s) says the list is primarily approachable and interesting with something very special for serious Australian wine aficionados.

“We’ve spent months scouring private collector’s cellars to curate an incredible range of almost impossible-to-find vertical back vintages of Australian icons like Mount Mary ‘Quintet’, Moss Wood, and Cullen. We have vintages from as far back as 1987 – it’s very special,” he said.

Director of bars Jonothan Carr has curated around 100 mostly Australian spirits, local craft beers on tap and in cans, as well as 12 cocktails celebrating Australian ingredients. Bar snacks are largely from the restaurant’s menu.

The Poetica team is led by Mathieu Mozziconacci (Loulou Bistro; Felix; Mr Wong) as general manager with Angela Gallo (Totti’s Rozelle; Merivale events; Mr Wong) as restaurant manager. Head sommelier Michael Block (Buon Ricordo; Gastro Park; The Bridge Room) brings with him more than 30 years of restaurant experience. While former Barbershop and Rockpool Bar & Grill Perth alumni, Kieran Lee, heads up the bar experience as bar manager.

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