Overview
The brains behind The Butler, Bondi Hardware, The Botanist and SoCal, Applejack Hospitality is opening one grand, grand new bar, Della Hyde. Headed for the Hyde Park end of Oxford Street, Darlinghurst from November 25, this brand new 150-seat bar will take inspiration from the "luxe lobby bars of the grand hotels of the past", according to the Applejack team.
With opulent interiors, brick columns, Chesterfield banquettes, period feature lighting and a focus on old world, glamorous cocktails, Della Hyde ain't no speakeasy. Think more Grand Budapest Hotel meets the decadent palaces of Rajasthan, India. Owners Ben Carroll and Hamish Watts have even given this fancy new character a sort of backstory — just for fun.
“We like the idea that the Della Hyde site was ‘apparently’ once a grand hotel situated on Hyde Park and named after the famous American actress Della Pringle," says Watts. "We’ve taken design inspiration and a bit of artistic license from that — we reckon it would have had a touch of opulence based on the Hawa Mahal or 'Pink Palace' in Jaipur, India and that maybe it was a member of the revered 'Society of Crossed Keys'. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it!"
Shall we check in and have a tipple? Cocktail-wise, Della Hyde’s general manager Joe Worthington (ex-SoCal Neutral Bay) and Applejack Group bars manager Lachy Sturrock have created a super sophisticated menu. We're pretty keen to try the cold-drip espresso aperitif-styled cocktails served over ice. There's nibbles afoot too — and the kitchen'll be open late (the bar's inspired by grand hotels after all). Executive chef James Privett has crafted a menu of European and North African influences, mainly share plates and bar food. Think spinach and labna pizza, paprika chicken skewers or pea and pancetta croquettes.
This new bar will be Applejack's fifth venue to open in four years. Look out, Drink N Dine, Merivale et al.
Della Hyde will open at 34 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst on November 25. It'll be open 5pm until late, seven nights a week.
Images: The Butler.