“If it was up to me, it would be crazy – crazy Middle Eastern music, banging on pans, standing on tables.” Michael Cthurmer, co-founder of The Grumpy Baker with his wife Deborah Cthurmer, is telling Broadsheet about the ideal for his soon-to-open small bar.

“That’s what you’d find in Jerusalem, but we can’t exactly do that here,” says his daughter Lily Cthurmer, who according to Michael is slowly taking over the business (just in case he ever retires).

“We’ll see – I at least want to get some drums,” says Michael.

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We’re sitting in the middle of the nearly-built venue, in the space that housed Macleay Street Bistro for more than 40 years. It’s almost unrecognisable. “We knocked down a lot of walls – I prefer curves,” says Michael. And curves he’s created: a gently arched ceiling, Thonet chairs, inverted-dome lamps. A white, roughly painted render adds to a cave-like atmosphere.

With or without drums, the vibe seems cosy and fun. “We’ll be serving all the rustic food I grew up on,” says Michael. That means Middle Eastern-style share plates like roasted eggplant with tahini, spicy Moroccan fish hotpots, dips, salads and steak skewers.

The menu will find its match in a brief list of mostly Australian wines from small producers, put together by Deborah Cthurmer, Michael’s partner. Among the cocktails you’ll find classics alongside signatures infused with Middle Eastern ingredients like pomegranate, rosewater and lemon.

As at all Grumpy Bakers – this will be the 12th; the first opened in Darlinghurst in 2002, and there are now outposts in Newcastle and Bilpin – daytime will be devoted to just-baked breads, pastries and pies, with the addition of hotcakes for the first time. “We start baking at six o’clock in the morning, rather than the night before, so everything is made fresh on the premises through the day.”

Also planned is a cafe-style menu similar to the one at Vaucluse, peddling shakshuka for one or two, brekkie rolls and Turkish bourekas. “One of our favourite things to do as a family is share a big plate with bacon, corn fritters, haloumi, Israeli salad – so we’re going to do that here as well,” says Lily.

The venue’s been in development for 18 months, and will open in the next month. The Cthurmers are optimistic it’ll have a better fate than their very first bar, which ran in a “pigeonhole” in Vaucluse a dozen years ago, but struggled against regulations and unsupportive neighbours. Opening a bar in Sydney isn’t always easy, but The Grumpy Baker team’s set to join a flourishing scene, with favourites like Caravin, The Hook, Piccolo Bar and Teddy nearby. Plus, it’ll be the neighbourhood’s first bakery since Bourke Street closed in 2023.

The Grumpy Baker & Bar will open at 71A Macleay Street, Potts Point, in early March.

@grumpybaker