Ananas Bar & Brasserie
Classic French brasserie fare and a serious champagne list in The Rocks.
Overview
Few venues in The Rocks have a legacy quite like Ananas. First opened in 2012, the French brasserie has returned to its former pride of place on Argyle Street, operating under Hunter St. Hospitality — the team behind 24 York, Sahtein and Bar Patron. It now occupies a more intimate space upstairs in the historic Argyle Stores, above sister venue Sahtein. Nods to the original are everywhere: bentwood chairs, banquettes, marble and timber tables, a communal high-top, and, naturally, golden pineapple lamps.
Executive Chef Mike Flood (ex-Felix) and Head Chef Christian Jones lead a menu that roams across France with the seasons, while keeping one foot firmly in the classic Paris brasserie. Start with Sydney rock oysters and vermouth mignonette, French onion soup under flaky pastry and Comté, escargots in red wine and bone marrow butter, or spanner crab rillettes prepared tableside. Mains run from confit duck leg with gastrique and a Berkshire pork chop with sauce charcutière to steak frites au poivre. If you're with a crowd, go all in on the share plates: roast Sommerlad chicken with mustard sauce, butterflied Murray cod with vin jaune, or a kilo of Cape Grim rib eye on the bone.
Save room for a Trou Normand, a green apple sorbet doused in Calvados or Chartreuse. Better yet, order the Baba d'Ananas, a rum-soaked savarin with pineapple and crème fraîche chantilly, sliced at the table. Can't decide? The $99 Menu de la Maison and $135 shared Menu à Partager take care of the whole table.
As for the drinks, champagne leads the charge, poured from a dedicated bar and drawn from a list of around 100 bottles. It features everyone from Billecart-Salmon and Pol Roger to Krug and Salon. The broader French-leaning wine list runs deep, with plenty by the glass. Cocktails lean into French aperitif culture: think Kir Royal, Picon Bière, a pastis-and-calvados number, and the Citron 2CV, made with cognac, Armagnac and pineapple oil.
Keen to stay out late? On the first Friday of each month, Supper Club brings late-night French dining, an extended happy hour and DJs from 9pm. C'est magnifique.
Images: Supplied.
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