Overview
The Eastern Suburbs' main watering hole is turning over a new leaf, with the reopening of their new beer garden and ground-floor venue, The Garden Bar. It's the first part of renovations for the Sheaf, with the upstairs spaces locked in for transformations later in the year.
Design-wise, The Garden Bar in good hands, with creative team Alexander & Co at the helm (they're responsible for well-dressed Sydney spots like Surly's, The Morrison, Daniel San, The Print Room and Watsons Bay Beach Club). The crew have created a lush, fairy-lit outdoor space of the Sheaf's beer garden, with creeping vines, wooden tables and plenty of flora. Plus, the greenery and pastel decor extend to the ground-floor bar. Sounds like prime cocktail habitat to us.
So what kind of garden-friendly nosh can you expect to be nibblin' on here? Chef Matt Weller, formerly of Swine and Co. and Ananas, has created a whole new bistro menu full of pub classics and contemporary bites. If you're looking to nibble, there's some oceanic share plates like the seafood board with blue swimmer crab, potted prawns, oysters and grilled half-shell scallops ($37) or the sashimi plate with salmon, kingfish and tuna ($25). But we're keen to try the Cracker Jack chicken lollipops with spicy green tomato relish ($14) — the last meat lollipops we had at Darlinghurt's The Powder Keg were out of control. If you're after something a little more hefty, there are mains like the prawn pizza with chilli, spinach, garlic zucchini and parmesan ($21) or the Sheaf wagyu burger ($19). Plus, there's going to be lunch and daily specials to shake things up.
But this is a garden bar isn't it? Where are those beverages at? Alongside the Sheaf's new signature cocktail, The Garden Sling (St Germain, Limoncello and seasonal fruits), the team have created some pretty quirky cocktails for the new venue, like popcorn-infused tequila with lime caramel and grapefruit, or a soda and Earl Grey tea cocktail spiked with spiced rum and pomegranate (all $17).
If you're down for a little live music, there's set to be local bands in the Garden Bar on Thursdays, with a bit of yazz on Tuesdays, and DJs like Luen, Chivalry and Sippy cranking out sets on the weekend.
The Garden Bar at The Sheaf opens on Monday, June 15, at 429 New South Head Road, Double Bay.
Images: Nikki To.