Overview
From championing ethical suppliers and sustainable produce, to adopting the do-it-yourself farm-to-table approach of restaurants like Three Blue Ducks and Acre, bars and restaurants are increasingly taking sustainability into their own hands. The latest hospitality venture pushing towards a more environmentally friendly future is new Sydney bar Re, which was announced late last year and has just launched in South Eveleigh with hospitality stars Matt Whiley (Scout) and Maurice Terzini (Icebergs Dining Room & Bar, Ciccia Bella) at the helm.
In creating Re, Whiley set himself the ambitious task of creating a blueprint for other venues to follow in terms of creating less waste and having less of an impact on the environment. Now open in the new South Eveleigh precinct, the bar is housed in a heritage site that spent 100 years as a locomotive workshop, and has been built from recycled materials. The central bars and tables are created from recycled bottles and tupperware, structural features are made from plastic bags and milk bottles, and the wooden finishing are sustainably sourced.
"Yes Re is built on waste, but it's this really incredible, refined space with heritage character," says Whiley. "We want to change people's expectations of what low-waste means, and encourage others to build and operate this way."
While the venue has a subdued, no-frills aesthetic, with exposed brick walls and muted colours, the menu is full of the fun and vibrant drinks Whiley is known for — but with a continuing emphasis on reducing waste. Patrons will find some of Sydney's best bartenders in Evan Stroeve (Bulletin Place), Jake Downe (This Must Be The Place, Scout London) and Ho Song (Cantina OK, PS40) behind the bar, and the drinks menu consists of distinct twists on classic cocktails and botanical-heavy spritzes, all served in reclaimed Maison Balzac glasses.
Among the classics, you'll find a rhubarb sbagliato and a white truffle martini served with olive leaf. Many of the drinks pair unique flavours with a focus on sustainable ingredients. The Wimbledon gimlet is made from vodka and milk-wine cordial with pickled strawberries salvaged from excess market produce, while banana skins are used to make a syrup for the BP + B old fashioned, which comes flavoured with peanut butter, burnt butter and caramel.
Stroeve, Downe and Song are also being encouraged to craft their own cocktail creations around continually changing themes. The opening intergalactic themed 'Re-search' menu includes the Mars, which heroes Bulleit bourbon, and also lists silicon, magnesium and iron among its ingredients — and the Milky Way, which pairs rum and cocoa butter with ethyl formate and aldehyde to create a multi-sensory experience.
The food is overseen by Alex Pritchard, head chef at Icebergs, and is full of luxe snacks designed to accompany your drinks while creating as little waste as possible. You'll find puffed soy beef tendons, eggplant ceviche and house pickles — plus rarebit flatbread, a cheese, Worcestershire sauce and Guinness open sandwich inspired by the sandwich served by renowned London restaurant St John.
Find Re at 2 Locomotive Street, Eveleigh — open 4pm–midnight Tuesday–Saturday.