Sommeliers-turned-wine-importers-turned-co-owners of Bar Heather, Tom Sheer and James Audas are the masterminds behind the ethically minded wine distribution company Lo-Fi Wines and Luna Wine Store, a bottle shop that’s become a popular honey hole for folks seeking low-intervention sips from small-scale producers. Bar Heather is the latest venture the wine-centric duo has spearheaded in recent years. This move marks somewhat of a return to hospitality for the pair, whose resumes list sommelier and front-of-house stints at vaunted venues like Noma, Oscillate Wildly and LP’s Quality Meats. At Bar Heather, they’re funnelling their fascination for natural wine (and a good chunk of their own cellars) into a 60-seat restaurant and bar that’s a little bit Byron Bay and a little bit Paris. The crew has linked up with Miles/Thorp Architects and CADRE Building Co to help fashion the venue’s interior, which boasts the likes of aged green-leather banquettes, French wooden flooring, hanging art, and a mortadella-coloured marble horseshoe bar.
Helming the kitchen is chef Ollie Wong-Hee, who has manned the pans at restaurants such as Ester and Sixpenny in Sydney and, most recently, Franklin in Hobart. Ollie Smith (previously of 10 William St in Sydney) has come aboard as Bar Heather’s sommelier, working with Tom and James to craft a revolving wine list boasting plenty of wines by the glass and exclusive back vintages from producers like Matassa, Alessandro Viola and Gut Oggau. Together, the trio has searched out rare and characterful wines from around the world to curate a wine list, which will rotate as frequently as Wong-Hee’s food menu. Think snack-heavy, wine-friendly bites, such as pork and pickles wrapped in betel leaf, potato chip with comte and shiitake, wild venison with charred onions and wattle seed sabayon and grilled king green prawns bathing in a sauce made from its shells and curry leaf.
Joining Tom and James at Bar Heather is a team of seasoned hospo stalwarts bringing a similarly primo pedigree to the table. Restaurant manager Amalia Oxley (who has joined the team after working at The Agrarian Kitchen, just outside of Hobart) will oversee the floor, which will boast a lively ambience courtesy of a soundtrack of afrobeat, funk and late-disco tunes.
Bar Heather is now open on Jonson Street, just across the road from Luna Wine Store.
Images: Jess Kearny, supplied by Bar Heather
