Dessous Enters the Takeaway Game With Fancy Snack Packs and Cocktails by the Half-Litre

After being shuttered for nearly two months, Flinders Lane bar Dessous will reopen for takeaway food and drinks on Friday.

The subterranean spot has a new Dessous at Home menu that upholds its reputation as a destination for topnotch snacking (and boozing).

“A lot of [restaurants] are doing full take-home meals, but we just wanted to do some canapés and cocktails that you could have before a meal,” says Nathan Toleman, CEO of Mullberry Group, which runs Dessous as well as upstairs restaurant Hazel , and cafe big-hitters Liminal and Common Ground Project.

The menu will get a shake-up every few weeks, but for now each snack pack ($25 for a single serve) includes a bite-sized pork-belly katsu sando with house-made tonkatsu sauce; a bougie party pie filled with confit duck and shiitake; saffron-pickled Spring Bay mussels with potato crisps; hazelnut hummus with crudité; and leek and comté croquettes.

You can add a bottle of vino (there are four to choose from – one sparkling, one white and two reds) and one of four cocktails, which come in 100-millilitre and half-litre vessels. The Sherpa is a mix of bourbon, orange curacao and allspice dram, and shaken up in the Siesta combines tequila, Campari, grapefruit and lime.

Dessous is also debuting a new loyalty program. It costs $100 to sign up, and only 100 memberships are available – you’ll score a limited-edition keyring , a $100 bar tab when it reopens for dine-in service, and 10 per cent off all future bills.

“A lot of customers are wanting to buy vouchers, and we just wanted to give [them] some benefits for supporting us during this time,” says Toleman.

He adds that while Dessous will reopen with a 20-person capacity on June 1, in line with the recent government announcement , the team will keep takeaway going “until business is back to full capacity”.

Dessous’s takeaway menu is available on Fridays and Saturdays for pick-up, or delivery within five kilometres of the CBD. Pre-order and buy a membership here.

dessous.com.au