Overview
If you're looking for an intimate spot in the Northern Beaches where you can catch up with friends over a glass of white, red or even skin-contact wine, look no further than Manly Corso's new small bar Henry G's. Designed to look like a pint-sized library or a wealthy family's reading room with over 2000 antique books on the shelves, the bar comes from the Saga Group — the crew behind Northern Beaches mainstays Donny's Bar, InSitu and the Market Lane Live series.
The bar is named after Henry Gilbert Smith who built Manly Wharf and contributed to the Corso, Hotel Styne and St Matthews Church in the 1800s. The influential figure has been honoured with a spot specialising in all things vino, as well as pintxos and tinned fish.
"We wanted to deliver a venue where patrons could take one step off the Corso and immerse themselves in a world of exceptional wines and pintxos, all while paying homage to Manly's history," says Saga Group's Pete Jenkins, Jorja Thomson and Steve Helms.
The 170-strong wine list includes more than 20 drops by the glass, ranging from Mumm Champagne and Provence rosé to a skin-contact sauvignon blanc and a chilled red from France's Comte Tolosan.
Accompanying the pinots and rieslings on offer is a Bentspoke-heavy beer menu, a handful of wine-fermented beers, and a sizeable selection of cocktails with a focus on sours. The Vauxhall Gardens sour is particularly attention-grabbing, combining Buffalo Trace, machine rosso, fig and raspberry sherbert, and citrus.
Feeling peckish? Start with a serve of gildas before moving on to the Henry G's specialties: the pintxos. Load your slice of thick-cut bread with cured pork tartare, crab salad, crushed spicy tomato and sardines, or torn burrata and padron peppers.
Tinned fish also feature heavily on the snack menu, with sardines, scallops, mussels, squid and tuna belly all on offer. Plus, Henry G's is an ideal nightcap spot, with the ability to pair your Manhattan with a sweet treat like the brunt Basque cheesecake.
Henry G's is located 11 The Corso, Manly. it's open 4pm–late Tuesday–Saturday and 4–10pm Sunday. Head to the bar's website for more information.