A wine bar that makes its own rules with not-too-serious snackage and a drinks menu that’s sure to excite everyone.
The drinks list at this Mount Lawley wine bar is anything but rogue. Sure, the venue’s no-rules commitment to good times means that co-owner and sommelier Sarah Atkinson can draw from a more diverse range than at sister restaurant, Le Rebelle. But the theme is smart, interesting and broad rather than wild, with small-producer Rhone Valley syrah and skinsy cortese from Piedmont rubbing shoulders with bottles of rare mezcal, vintage Armagnac and Swan Draught tinnies.
Upstairs in the semi-open kitchen, owner and chef Liam Atkinson stacks the snack-heavy menu with invention and originality.
The approach attracts an equally diverse community of drinkers, from wine enthusiasts sampling no-nonsense Chablis to passers-by who pop in for an excellent rendition of a classic cocktail at the bar’s Old World countertop. But don’t sleep on the food. Upstairs in the semi-open kitchen, owner and chef Liam Atkinson stacks the snack-heavy menu with invention and originality. Wine-friendly small plates landing on large tables in the handsome mezzanine include triumphs like skewered herring rollmops with a squeeze of lemon, roasted pig’s head with celeriac and sweet grapes, and smoked, glazed kingfish with avocado and mandarin.
Larger dishes, meanwhile, might be cooked in a charcoal-fired Big Green Egg – glistening char siu pork, say, its salty-sweet sauce dripping over Paris mash. Service is such that a plan for a quick drink and a snack here always risks turning into a long night of delicious eating and compelling drinking. Go on, go rogue.
