Negroni-loving Bar Conte opens in Surry Hills

• Where to find Sydney's most interesting negronis (for Negroni Week and beyond)

The negroni-championing Bar Conte opens on September 14, its launch serendipitously aligned with Negroni Week (September 12-18).

If, like us, you didn't know such a thing as Negroni Week existed (you might've also missed Make Your Bed Day at the weekend), Bar Conte's arrival on the upper slopes of Surry Hills says much about the rise and rise of the Italian cocktail.

Sydney mixologists describe the negroni as a drink that's shifted from a specialty to a staple. And Bar Conte intends to squeeze every last drop out of the famed cocktail – co-owner and chef Steve De Vecchi (ex-Apollo) is curating a menu where even the oysters are topped with negroni dressing.

Bar Conte is the result of Raffaele Lombard's decade-long dream to open an aperitivo bar with a strong negroni focus.

"The negroni is my drink of choice, and has been since I was a young man growing up in Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast," he says.

"It's bitter, strong and clean, the ultimate pre-dinner drink. We felt it deserved its own dedicated bar."

He promises 20 versions of the classic cocktail, made with Campari, gin and vermouth – both Italian and Australian.

"The temperature and the quality of the vermouth is what makes a good negroni," he says.

But don't expect Bar Conte to corner itself as a purists' destination. A Mexican negroni, made with Ilegal Mezcal Joven, and a Samurai negroni, made with Roku Gin from Japan, are on the opening list, alongside a rotating list of five European beers.

And because Sydneysiders don't live on negronis alone, Bar Conte's menu includes wagyu carpaccio and gnocchi alla Sorrentina.

Lombard's partner, interior designer Victoria Hampshire, has crafted a 38-seater into a warm space that mixes brass, shades of green and red walls. It slides into the former site of a convenience store, across the road from the Forrester's.

Open Mon-Thu from 5pm; Fri-Sat from 3pm.

340 Riley Street, Surry Hills