The first thing the new owners of faded Woollahra gem the Wine Library did was dump fish fingers from its menu.
The next item on their list is the introduction of bookings, and late this year, the Wine Library will usher in a 30-seat private dining room on its first floor.
Sam Jones and Matt Taylor met at bar-raising Potts Point venue, Monopole, and this month snapped up the Wine Library with a third partner, Tim Perlstone, the former Merivale rising star who took out the 2018 Australian Ruinart Sommeliers Challenge.
Jones hopes to bring a little Monopole- and Merivale-style magic to the Wine Library, one of the first of Sydney's new-generation wine bars when it was opened by the Buzo team in 2010.
"They later sold it, and the original Buzo site (around the corner on Jersey Road) is still empty. We want to breathe some fresh air into the Wine Library," Jones says.
Lifting its food offering is top priority, so the fish fingers and meatballs have already been dumped for beef tartare, pork rillettes and mandarin sponge with coconut mousse.
"Brent Savage [Monopole, Bentley] really trains you about how food should be. And this is the first time the Wine Library has ever taken bookings."
Open Mon-Thur 4pm-12pm; Fri 12pm-12am; Sun 12pm-10pm.
Wine Library, 18 Oxford Street, Woollahra, 02 9368 7484.
Continue this series
July hit list: Where to eat and drink in Sydney this monthBowral chef James Viles' pop-up will run until early July.
The Sydney businessman is part of the team behind a new rustic restaurant-bakehouse at Mount White.
Arepas arrive on Enmore Road, offering quick service, casual restaurant and takeaway.
Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.
Sign up