Savage is ready to take the Bentley for a run in the city

Surry Hills' twin-toqued Bentley Restaurant & Bar is closing in on ambitions for a city site and may even relocate to the city centre. Buoyed by its success with wine bar spinoff Monopole at Potts Point, co-owner Brent Savage confirms the city is on the agenda after the Bentley team was linked with a city site. "There are a lot of good people going in there [the CBD], it feels a bit like it has taken on what Melbourne has," he says. Savage refused to comment on exact sites, but of the strong speculation Bentley will relocate, he says: "There is one location, but it won't happen unless conditions change." Short Black hears a CBD deal is imminent. The chef has had a film crew in tow in recent weeks, collecting footage for a show to air in Austria documenting Savage's upcoming stint at Ikarus restaurant in Salzburg. Savage will be in good company when he steps into the kitchen at Ikarus in late August, following in the footsteps of former guest chefs at the restaurant including Noma's Rene Redzepi and our own Peter Gilmore from Quay.

Redfern faces a new test

Redfern's claim as a hot postcode for small bars and food ventures has had its first test. Small bar Dry Land has closed, and now experienced operator Julian Serna has departed postcode 2016, selling his Redfern venture, The Fern. ''After dealing with council for two years and not getting any concessions with late-night trading or extension of hours we decided to sell,'' he says. ''Luckily we built up a strong following so selling was not an issue.'' Paula Westerman is the new owner at The Fern. Serna says Redfern is on the cusp of a revival, but needs more retail to attract people to the area. ''It is extremely competitive and I feel the population is somewhat lagging,'' he says. ''In saying that there is another cafe-restaurant opening on Redfern Street, and a bar called The Angry Pirate [also opening on Redfern Street]. An R&B bar is set to open on Regent Street any time soon.'' The Dry Land site is also poised to reopen as a hospitality venue, but it won't be a small bar, rather a Japanese restaurant.

Mums' early start

Mother's Day will be coming early at The Sydney Morning Herald Growers' Markets in Pyrmont on Saturday. The women from the Monday Morning Cooking Club (pictured) will take over the Market Chef stage showcasing market-sourced produce in a couple of quick, simple dishes. Chef and local-produce advocate James Viles, from the two-hat Biota Dining, joins the market selling lambs and suckling pigs from Redleaf Farm. For more details visit growersmarketpyrmont.com.au.

In with the new in Cammeray and Mona Vale

Cammeray's food rise shifts up yet another gear next week with the opening of Ms Miller on the suburb's main drag, Miller Street. A tapas bar, it is the latest venture from the team behind Cammeray's Laneway Cafe. Remember when there was a build-up behind a new opening in Sydney? Now they roll out like new cars in Japan. Mona Vale is also getting in on the act. Next week Edison's Bar joins the growing throng of ventures at the northern beaches food hub. Given Sydney's preoccupation with overly dim rooms, hopefully Edison's moniker, a nod to the inventor of the commercial light bulb, will mean some decent light is shed on its interior.

Restaurant hopes to pull a rabbit out of the hat

The burger at Rockpool Bar & Grill gets most of the local media attention, but it is the lesser-known wagyu beef burger at Rabbit Hole in the city that could achieve world-champ status today. Rabbit Hole's burger featured in a Bloomberg story on the Chowzter Awards, and staff at the venue, at 82 Elizabeth Street, were waiting to hear overnight if they'd trumped the other nominees, including a cheeseburger from Louis Lunch in Connecticut and a ''wet burger'' from Istanbul. Britain-based Chowzter worked with some of the world's top food bloggers to find the best fast food on the planet, ladling out The World's Seven Tastiest Fast Feasts award winners in London. Rabbit Hole prides itself on making everything that goes into its creation, from the tartare to the tomato relish. And it seems prepared to also make a play for the world's best chip award, if such a thing exists. ''We cook them three times,'' a spokesman at the wine bar says.

Prices leave a bad taste

The 2008 vintage of Penfolds' flagship red wine, Grange Shiraz (pictured), will be released on May 2, but for most wine drinkers the event will inspire a yawn. It is a great vintage of a great wine, but the price has jumped 25 per cent in one leap, to $785 a bottle. Allegations of greed, profiteering and one-upmanship abound. With Torbreck's profound Barossa shiraz The Laird hitting $900 with its recent 2008 release, and Henschke's latest Hill of Grace 2008 costing $650, it's looking like a ''mine's bigger than yours'' race. But they're all trumped by the Chris Ringland Shiraz, which costs more than $1000, although finding out the exact price is almost as hard as finding anyone who's drunk it. The '08 Grange is an outstanding vintage of Australia's most famous wine, arguably at the same level of the great '04, '06 and '96. I rate only a handful of vintages, such as '53 and '63, higher. It needs at least 10 years before you should contemplate opening it, and it will happily live past 50. But the price? Sadly it makes the wine irrelevant to all but the wealthy.
- Huon Hooke