Overview
The best way to start an interview, I find, is to break the ice a bit. In this case, I was interviewing the young spunky dudes behind the latest Bayswater road venue, The Courtyard. I introduced myself to James and politely informed him that he had pen on his face. "Ah thanks," he replied, "it's a scar."
Smooth.
Anyway, luckily the guys are lovely and have a good sense of humour, which is impressive when you learn that on top of opening a bar, they work regular jobs.
The Courtyard is a bar that's built on friendships; that of the three owners Julian Tobias, James Reynolds and Alec Brown and that of their friends (and friends-of-friends) who helped them put it together. Reynolds (also an engineer) and Brown have been mates since their uni days. Brown (also a DJ) met Tobias working the decks at The Club, which Tobias also owns (as well as The Island).
The area has suffered its fair share of businesses going bust (the constant redevelopment of the old Bayswater Brassiere, the long-abandoned Lincoln and the closures of Time to Vino and Concrete Blonde), but Bayswater Road itself is a pretty, terraced-lined and leafy street with lots of potential. It's got a new residential building opening at the old Mansions site (which I'm sure nobody will miss). So here’s hoping The Courtyard is a sign of good things to come. And really, if you can redevelop The Bourbon to somewhere we'd actually be seen drinking, anything is possible.
The bar itself is built on a maze of hospitality connections and Sydney social networks such as "interior designer friends who helped us out with colour palates, textures and furnishings" or "one of our connections put us in touch with Jasper, an incredible cocktail bartender from New York" and "good friends" who run successful restaurants in Sydney helping them create their menu and wine list.
These guys have a lot of experience amongst them promoting, bartending and running venues around Sydney but admit "we're not experts on a lot of things but have a lot of connections so we just went straight to the top and asked for help," says Brown. "We just said," agrees Reynolds with a laugh, "I'm sure I've let you into a club at 4am or given you a free drink at some point, so now I'm calling in that favour."
The result is a casual/cool bar that fills the gaping hole in the Cross for a nice place to have a drink and something to eat without wrestling with surly security, trashed teenagers or Underbelly characters. Located underneath Hugo's, the Courtyard's best asset is its ample outdoor seating area, which is decorated with long high tables, green palms and garden patio-style seating.
As for the music, there's going to be live acoustic sets, and it's no surprise that many of Brown's DJ buddies are popping by. "I've got some pretty good pull in the industry and lots of people are just showing up for cameos," he says. "You might just turn around and see Flight Facilities here."
The food won't break any records for originality, with sliders, salads and snacking boards like antipasto and zucchini flowers. It's very reasonably priced though and there are some good flavour combinations. The beef brisket slider with aged cheddar and pickled onions is our pick.
On the drinks front, the aforementioned Jasper Soffer (from the renowned Pegu club in New York) has been consulting on the cocktail list, which admirably doesn't have any drinks based on vodka. But before all women under 25 get tense, don't. "Any cocktail can be made with a neutral base like vodka on request, but we want people to experiment with something a bit different," says Brown. Such as the El Mariachi with tequila, watermelon, chilli, lime and sugar. Try it. You might like it.
They're also doing pitchers like Pimms and Sangria ($45) and shots (yes shots) like a Pine Splice with pineapple-infused pisco, homemade lime syrup and fresh lemon ($11). The wines, too, are fairly approachable with some good internationals from France, Italy and Austria — like a Laurenz 'Singing' Gruner Veltliner, and most are around the $30-$50 mark by the bottle.
"If you back yourself on your food, cocktails and your wine, people will come back because they know its good," says Reynolds. "We spent a lot of money to make sure we know it is."
"I'm not sure what the other operators are doing, but I've been working in this area for five years and seen places come and go I think we've created somewhere that we ourselves would like to drink in, at this point in our lives, and we're confident others will too,” says Brown.
You'll likely see James, Alec and Julian there on any given night, drinking with some of the many people that helped them open their bar — and when you do, give James a big, awkward high five for us.
Courtyard Bar opens on Friday, 22 March. 33 Bayswater Road, Potts Point;
0413 827 740; http://www.facebook.com/thecourtyardbarsydney.