No. 5 Restaurant and Bar

Overview

In 2016, Bar No 5 opened in a repurposed Alexandria warehouse with a clear vision: keeping things local. The long unused building has its roots as a gemstone processing facility and the owners — siblings Sarina, Sarah, Stephen and Sime Jackson — maintained that warehouse fitout and worn-out character.

The bar focused not only on seasonality and sourcing local ingredients, but also enacting a closed-loop policy — think foraging, beekeeping, solar panels and a composting worm farm to boot. And, to really solidify its position as a neighbourhood champion, it had an alcove dog area with leash hooks and a gas fire for winter.

Four years on, a few things have changed. It's now No 5 Restaurant and Bar and, though much of the aforementioned features remain true, there is a much bigger emphasis on the food offering. With Head Chef Emry Jones at the helm, the kitchen now serves up a tight a la carte menu of share-style dishes, ranging from snacks to larger plates. It changes seasonally but an emphasis on simple, balanced flavours is the through-line. Right now, Japanese influences are evident in the likes of scorched kingfish with lemon emulsion and shiso, cauliflower with truffle yuzu dressing and wagyu with romano beans, burnt soy and peanuts. Set menus are available for $65 per person or $40 for weekend lunch bookings.

Drinks-wise, you can expect a decent sake and umeshu offering, plus cocktails, wine and locally brewed craft beers from Yulli's Brews and One Drop. The best day to drop by is Sunday afternoon, when it has live music from 3–5pm. Or keep an eye on its social channels for themed lunches and dinners.

Images: TJ Edwards, 1oh1 Media 1