This New Garden Bar Serves Build-Your-Own Cheese Boards and Salad Bowls

The ivy-covered laneway and building tucked away at 503 New North Road serve as an escape from the main strip of Kingsland. And that's exactly the feeling owner Ellen Smith hopes to capture with her new garden bar. After attending culinary school in Switzerland and working between France, Geneva and Dubai as a chef, Smith decided to start her own venture inspired by time spent in Bali. Rosanna's Garden Bar is the result, found in the former home of Mondays Wholefoods.

The surf break, eclectic mix of travellers and rice fields of Canggu might be missing, but Smith hopes to capture the essence of the Bali hotspot with an "oasis-style setting" and salad bowls. Upstairs is a yoga and meditation studio to complete the concept, and where visitors can take part in restorative stretching sessions and martial arts classes. It will soon host fun events like beer yoga.

Smith renovated the entire space herself post-lockdown, from the demolition of walls to the design of a new bar counter, while local artist Erika Pearce completed an oversized flamingo mural.

The menu reads more like drinking fodder than Indonesian beach paradise and features the likes of build-your-own cheese boards and smaller plates like lotus root chips, polenta sticks and mushroom arancini. Smith says the wheel of baked brie is proving to be a popular option. The 'Bali bowls' provide a healthier option for those who require nourishment after completing a sound journey meditation. Ingredients span from quinoa to baked kumara, raw broccoli, goji berries and toasted seeds.

On the drinks list, local drops from Urbanaut and Morningcider lead the way, alongside cocktails, kombucha, and wine to enjoy in the sun-drenched courtyard.

Rosanna's Garden Bar is open Tuesday to Sunday from 3pm to midnight, and from 12pm on Fridays and weekends. Find it at 503b New North Road, Kingsland.