The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement

Pie in the sky as Merivale expands again

Scott Bolles
Scott Bolles

Hot stuff: Chef Alex Woolley with his winning pies.
Hot stuff: Chef Alex Woolley with his winning pies.Supplied

The news only gets better for Bridge Street and its back lanes, with Justin Hemmes confirming Merivale will open a venue in early 2014 on Tank Stream Way.

''It'll have an oyster bar, it'll be old-school French in feel, it'll be a really good bar,'' Hemmes says.

The yet-to-be-named venue will replace Tank Stream Bar as well as take a chunk of the lobby from the Merivale-owned Establishment Hotel.

With Mr. Wong firing and Rockpool and Bridge St Garage opening later this year around the corner, the precinct has quickly gone from rags to riches on the food front.

Advertisement

Despite a reputation for restaurants and bars, Hemmes also has plans to roll out a more modest food spinoff - a pie chain. He's run a competition between his head chefs to see who could create the best meat pie.

Alex Woolley, head chef at fine diner est., took out the honours with his wagyu brisket creation, which has been added to the menu across a number of the group's venues.

The pie enterprise has its own name, Bert's, and Hemmes says he wants to roll it out into outlets of its own, possibly including shopping centres and suburban strips.

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

Sign up
Scott BollesScott Bolles writes the weekly Short Black column in Good Food.

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement