Coming Soon: The Sixpenny Team’s New “Neighbourhood Hangout” Is Almost Ready

This year is shaping up to be one dotted with wine bar spin-offs from some of our most celebrated restaurants. Mat Lindsay’s 12-seater Pig Mary will be here imminently, on the very same block as Ester. Aalia’s wine room recently opened in the glassy-walled space just next door. And soon fine-diner Sixpenny will have Bar Lira, just 140 metres up the road.

“It’s a casual sister to Sixpenny,” says general manager George Papaioannou, who’s been with the team for close to a decade. “We want to see people more regularly and really be there for our community. Our tagline is ‘your neighbourhood hangout’. We really just want to be for the people that live around us so they can drop in for a glass of wine on their way home from work.”

With Sixpenny’s owner-chef Dan Puskas (Corner 75) and head chef Tony Schifilliti leading the food, you’ll want to stay longer than a drop-in drink. The team’s laser focus on the food, drinks and atmosphere is a spectacular score for Stanmore, a sleepier inner west suburb.

Here we’re in wine bar territory, but with enough heft for a substantial dinner: snacks, small plates and rotating mains, rounded out with gelato for dessert. And while Sixpenny’s ferments will add complexity to Bar Lira’s dishes and the same team will oversee both dining rooms, the venues will stand alone. 

“It’s more European at Bar Lira, and more contemporary Australian at Sixpenny. They stand apart,” says Papaioannou. “You could say the level of detail is the same, but they both have their own unique perspectives on food.”

The wine list goes big on carafes for more flexibility; plus special drops available by the half-bottle, for less of a commitment.

The currency-themed names mark the pair as siblings, with the lira’s use across Europe – especially Italy, where it was the currency until 2002 – referencing the new venue’s offering and look. “One of the key words we were working on with the interior designer was ‘timeless’. So we’ve taken cues from old European wine bars and developed a colour palette and feeling that feels like it’s been there and has history,” says Papaioannou.

The kitchen is in and the cabinetmaker is at work on Lira’s wooden surfaces. The finishing touches on the warm 28-seat space are close, too. The team hopes to be in and pouring in the coming weeks.

Bar Lira is set to open at 124 Percival Road, Stanmore, in October 2026.

@barlira_au