North Sydney is undergoing renaissance and transforming into a 18-hour a day drinking and dining hotspot just minutes from Sydney’s CBD.
Formerly a staid business hub, North Sydney is welcoming thousands of new residents, a stack of fancy hotels and Victoria Cross Metro station, which will connect the suburb to Barangaroo in just three minutes.
World-class hospitality venues are rapidly filling the streets of North Sydney, with Etymon Projects leading the charge. Following the opening of Loulou Bistro in Milsons Point and Poetica in Denison Street, Etymon launched food and dining destination the Walker Street precinct this week.
Walker Street precinct includes artisanal providore Una; a cafe by day and bar by night called Sol bread and wine; LA-inspired restaurant, bar and lounge Soluna; and contemporary Japanese restaurant Genzo.
Drinks Digest explored the impressive line-up this week, kicking off with drinks at Sol. Curated by precinct sommelier, Thomas Craig (ex-Loulou Bistro, Catalina), the wine list heroes low-fi and minimal intervention with a focus on approachable, easy-drinking drops that work just as well for lunch through to late night.
The largely Australian, French, Italian and Spanish wines are available by the glass, carafe, or bottle with a friendly sommelier on hand to help guide you. Our favourite was a superb 2021 Oliver Giroux Macon-Loche, from an appellation of southern Burgundy that focuses on Chardonnay wines.
Cocktails at Sol are by head of bars Pasquale Scarpiello (ex-Tetsuya’s; Merivale; Kolture) and include a delicious twist on a gin sour with the Queen of Hearts, which combines gin, green apple liqueur and a pistachio and rhubarb syrup.
Shared plates accompany the drinks list, featuring tinned seafood and sliced-to-order cured meats from Una providore next door, served with thick sliced bread. More substantial offerings include spatchcock, rice pilaf, and tarragon braised with preserved lemon; and a meltingly tender braised wagyu beef cheek with white onion cream and radicchio hearts.
“We designed the menu so that you can order a couple of plates and graze or cover the table and have a feast,” explains Sol’s head chef Christian Potter (ex-Loulou Bistro, Cirrus, Rare Hare at Jackalope Hotel).
“It’s the kind of food you want to mop up with a thick slice of fresh bread – the seared bonito with shiso dressing and the squid that we gently cook in mustard leaf curry butter are both perfect examples of that.”
Upstairs at Soluna we sip cocktails at a high table in the 60-seater indoor and outdoor bar. Other guests linger in the 110-seater dining space, which spills outside into the all-weather courtyard. Or, if laid-back wines and snacks is what you’re after, there are also eclectic and cosy armchairs in the 30-seater lounge.
We sample the dining menu’s ‘bites & snacks’ – pressed prawn toast and herbed falafel with cream cheese and chili. Among the ‘light & raw’ options, we also try the yellowfin tuna with slightly dried tomato, burrata and basil, scooped up with a thick slice of toasted bread.
Wines are focused on easy drinking and approachable with plenty of great Australian wines as well as some French
and Italian. Cocktails include a twist on a spicy marg in the Casa Rosada, featuring mezcal, strawberry, pimiento and falernum syrup combining for a fruity and refreshing drink with a little heat. Negroni drinkers should try the truffle choc hazelnut negroni, which features truffle-infused gin, a little Frangelico and dust of chocolate bitter.
Our last stop for the evening is Genzo, a relaxed, contemporary Japanese space. The busy open kitchen features a robata grill and looks out onto a 28-seater cocktail and sake bar with temperature-controlled sake room, dining for 90 that spills out to the all-weather outdoor terrace, pops of colour emanating across the ceiling’s LED lighting, and character illustrations by Tokyo artist Masanori Ushiki.
The Genzo kitchen is led by executive chef Rhys Connell (ex-The Gantry; Sepia) alongside head chef Tuan Colombo (ex- Sokyo; Kyubi, London; Nobu London). Connell’s fascination with Japanese cooking was originally honed working under Martin Benn at Sepia and a recent trip to Japan reignited his creativity with this style.
“I love the complexity and elegance of Japanese flavours and dishes and how incorporating Australian influences can work beautifully,” explains Connell. “The menu is refined but very approachable – apart from a few one-bite snacks, everything is either on sticks or eaten with sticks. It works whether you are at the bar or in it for a full dining experience in the restaurant.”
We start with playful avocado and vegemite bites on crispy rice cakes, followed by Kushi (skewers) and sutikku (sticks) cooked over the robatayaki and curried Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki (savoury pancake) with layers of yakisoba noodles, grilled cabbage, nori and bonito flakes. And don’t miss out on the Koji roasted rib eye & nori mustard, so good!
Sake is a significant focus of the drinks menu, with list than spans entry level through to the more complex and is available by the glass, tokkuri (Japanese carafe), and bottle. There is also a 100-strong wine list that traverses Japan, France, Italy and Australia and includes approachable styles through to a strong selection of Burgundy and Champagne.
The cocktails are minimalistic but full of flavour and make good use of Japanese ingredients such as miso, green team yuzu, umeshu, sesame oil and Japanese plum.
A signature is the Genzo Panchi (punch), which balances vodka, house-made cucumber syrup, vanilla and ginger liqueur, and a touch of sesame oil to lift all the flavours. Iiji Opun (which translates to ‘easy open’) is a refreshing and more complex take on a Japanese high ball with cocoa -infused gin, umeshu, peach syrup, fresh yuzu juice, and soda.
Our favourite, however, was the See-thru-Mi-zu, with Chivas 12, red vermouth, passionfruit, vanilla and clarified milk – simply stunning.
Etymon Projects expands to North Sydney with Poetica