The Odd Culture team is busy. They’re running some of our favourite haunts (The Duke and The Old Fitz) and sending out bottles at Spon. They’re delivering a heady program of live performances at their latest opening, Pleasure Club. And they’re consistent at namesake venue Odd Culture, their ode to fermentation in Newtown. But they’re ready for a shake up, revamping Odd Culture’s mezzanine as a French bistro destination by the end of the month.
“We want to make it really approachable, cosy and warm,” Odd Culture CEO James Thorpe says in a statement. “[But using] the knowledge and library we’ve built of flavour-building ferments to put something really special on the plate.”
The lofty dining room lends itself well to a second offering, with the out-of-the-way area the perfect canvas for food best enjoyed in a moody, low-lit space. The group’s exec chef James MacDonald (ex-Hubert and London’s St John) is leading the charge with a familiar clutch of dishes.
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SIGN UPWhat do we know so far? There’ll be steak frites, anchovy-topped pisaladierre, a rich boudin noir and a pork chop best shared. And for dessert, pouding chomeur – or “poor man’s pudding” – a self-saucing maple syrup pudding that’s baked to order. The sweet Québécois finisher is a hark back to head chef Jesse Warkentin’s Canadian heritage.
The group’s distinctive style will add a playful option to Sydney’s mix of newer French bistros, like Rozelle’s Chez Blue and Chez Crix in Surry Hills. In the coming weeks, a lick of deep burgundy paint will coat the Odd Culture mezzanine walls, and the lights will be turned low. A bientot, Bistro Grenier.
Bistro Grenier is expected to open in late August 2024.
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