Pinbone's Pop-Up Italian Disco Bottle Shop Diner Opens This Week

Pinbone's great Kensington pop-up might be gone, but the good news is that fans of its fare won't be left hanging any longer. The pop-up pros are ready to launch their next culinary pop-up this week in an unlikely space within the Tennyson Hotel.

In collaboration with Merivale – who acquired the Botany Road pub for $37.5 million last year — Pinbone chefs Mike Eggert and Jemma Whiteman have transformed the pub's drive-through bottle shop into Mr Liquor Dirty Italian Disco. In true bottle shop-style, guests will be able to select their own booze — including over 150 wines — out of the walk-in fridge. What's not so typical is that they'll then be able to order food at the counter and pull up a chair at one of the 90 seats set up in the driveway. The pop-up will kick off on Friday, October 20 and run for six months.

For this venture, the duo have turned their focus to American-accented Italian fare. They've promised a food situation that's "fun and fast, simple and delicious", with a menu that centres around bruschetta, pasta and meats from the woodfired oven and grill. "We went with the classic trio of bread/pasta, cheese and meat," says Whiteman. "That's going to be the strong nucleus of how this restaurant's going to fall in line because, to us, that's what makes Italian food: simple, uncomplicated, rustic."

But while that menu sounds basic, Pinbone's history promises anything but. Eggert and Whiteman are known for adding in a wild ingredient or two to classic dishes — if you visited 10 William Street during their takeover, you'll know what we're talking about. Dishes on the Dirty Disco menu will include meat loaf with dill pickle, pastas and bruschetta topped with raw veal, whipped tuna with bitter greens.

"We've been really inspired by the red sauce joints of New York," says Eggert. "We'll be pushing ourselves to get to their quality, but it'll have our essence, our touches. There'll be a little bit of seaweed here and there, a little bit of soy sauce. It's our take on the red sauce joint."

The venture is another new direction for the Pinbone trio, who, after running their much-loved Woollahra eatery and doing a takeover at 10 William Street, were most recently doing exceptional Chinese food in a no-frills restaurant space on Anzac Parade. The collaboration with Sydney hospo giant Merivale is their first.

Mr Liquor Dirty Italian Disco by Pinbone and Merivale, will pop-up at the Tennyson Hotel, 952 Botany Road, Mascot on Friday, October 20 for six months. It'll be open Wednesday to Friday 6pm till midnight, Saturday noon till midnight and Sunday noon till 10pm. For more info, visit merivale.com.au/mrliquorsdirtyitaliandisco.