Overview
Aenza has landed in Darlinghurst, boasting a Japanese-led wine list, a creative menu and easy-going vibes. The owners want to bring people together over good food, carefully curated drinks, and warm, genuine hospitality.
Joy Liu is no stranger to the Sydney hospo scene, already running Amuro in Surry Hills. The hidden sake-led counter experience has been a hit; however, Liu has been limited in what she can do due to the space constraints. Enter Aenza, a new space for Liu to extend her offering, located in the Oxford & Foley development on Oxford Street.
Liu says, "Amuro showed us how much people wanted to connect with each other over food, and we didn't have the space to do everything we wanted. Aenza gives us that room, a bigger kitchen, a longer bar, and space for a proper wine list, while keeping the same open kitchen and the same idea of guests talking to the team."
Paul Beaton oversees the beverage program, which features a wine list of 120 bottles, with 38 available by the glass. Beaton's carefully curated selection is primarily focused on wines from Japan, France and Australia. Japanese spirits, liqueurs, plum wines, highballs and rotating sakes round out the drinks offering.
"At Aenza, the scale is different, and so is the drink focus; we have a full wine list here and a complete drinks program. But what we've kept is the heart of it, that open kitchen, and guests close enough to watch, to talk, to feel part of what's happening. It's the theatre of an open kitchen, and that connection you only get when you're close enough to chat to the chefs mid-service. Bringing people together with good food, curated drinks and warm hospitality," says Liu.
A central, open kitchen creates dishes that are Japanese at heart, interpreted through an Australian lens. You might sample prawns with pickled chilli and shiso, twice-cooked sweet and sour lamb ribs, charred cauliflower with brown butter and comte, and wagyu with daikon and wasabi. Finish with a miso caramel and candied walnut chiffon cake roll, and a black truffle Basque cheese cake.
Images: Ethan Smart.
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