El nuevo bar de Glebe deja atrás la seriedad con cócteles de herencia rusa y polaca
Sophia Richardson y Wez Smeda-Healy, con años de oficio en la hostelería, han abierto en una terraza histórica de Glebe un bar de cócteles y vino.
The couple met while working at a Melbourne coffee shop. Smeda-Healy had trained at places like Bar Planet, Deadwax, The Waratah, and Piccolo, and at Borsch, Vodka & Tears. Richardson worked the day shift until he moved to the nightlife scene, working in wine bars while they looked for their own place.
The buttery-yellow bar features pendant lights illuminating a room furnished with secondhand furniture and hand-painted tiles behind the counter. These tiles, designed by artist Kate Howlett, a friend of the team, are inspired by the Deux Chats bar in Williamsburg. The original idea came from Richardson: “I want it feminine and delicate. I want it, you know, whimsical. I want it pretty, for the girls.” Now there are flowers, cherubs, moons, and stars.
Smeda-Healy prepares a carefully curated selection of cocktails, four alcoholic and one non-alcoholic, and serves a shot called Polish Bitch, a potent mix of vodka, cherry syrup, and chili. One of the most popular drinks during opening week is a shandy twist with vodka, the Czech digestif Becherovka, pilsner beer, and lemon, sweet and light enough to win over non-beer drinkers. Another, with Zubrowka vodka, green apple syrup, honey, and soda water, “tastes like apple crumble.”
The wine list, with 38 selections, abandons formality. It features 11 options by the glass and bottles from Georgia, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia, and was curated by sommelier Debra Navaratnam, who previously worked at Sixpenny and Paradise.
The menu is short and focused on appetizers. There's focaccia with whipped anchovy butter, Gordal olives, and a white bean cream, courtesy of Eli Tillett, a friend and caterer for Their Kitchen, with mustard, caraway, and dill oil. Soon, according to Richardson, there will be an antipasto with "some good jam and pickles," mostly from Marani Deli in Newtown.
There will also be homemade cakes: "I'm going to bake a sweet treat every day," says Richardson. Hours: Wednesday and Thursday, 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:00 p.m. to midnight.