The Nine

Owners Sebastien Dallee and Julie Brument have been in hospitality for a while. The Nine is a cafe-cross-wine bar focused on locality.

The fit-out is beachy in colour but simple in layout. Crockery is from local artists and blooms are from the local florist. The menu, created in collaboration with chef David Walker (ex-Danks Street Depot and Pablo & Rusty’s), is big on seafood and seasonality.

The polenta porridge is a soft, savoury pudding topped with lavender, sumac and a crème brûlée-like layer of salted almond praline. It’s crunchy, floral, smooth, salty and sweet. The breakfast plate comes with beetroot-cured salmon, poached eggs, pecans, dukkah and a sphere of apple, fennel and goat’s curd. Then there’s Israeli cous cous with slow-braised lamb, a crab-and-prawn brioche roll or za’atar-spiced shakshouka. Soon it will transform the menu and the space into a wine bar at night. The wine will be all organic and natural with small and large plates to share.