The dining space suspended in one of Newtown’s best wine bars has been given a sexy revamp. Dark leather banquettes line the walls and wrap around cosy corners. A lick of burgundy paint and new lighting has softened the mood. The hideaway has a whole new vibe, but don’t let it fool you: while Bistro Grenier is a complete departure from the energetic bar downstairs, it retains all the good stuff we expect from the group that gave us Pleasure Club. The new French bistro is ready for you, and opens at 5pm today.
Over the years, Odd Culture has put its mark on everything from wine bars doubling as bottle-os to historic old-school pubs. But Bistro Grenier represents something “totally different and adventurous” for the team. “Odd Culture still has almost its entire opening team of chefs, and we’ve learnt and developed a lot in the three years we’ve been open,” CEO James Thorpe tells Broadsheet. “Newtown is slim pickings for [this style of food, and we’re doing it] in a way that captures the terroir and weirdness of Newtown, the town that we love.”
Born from group executive chef James MacDonald’s “extensive experience and passion” in the cuisine, the restaurant’s menu brings simple, honest French fare, harking back to MacDonald’s time at the lauded St John in London. While the menu pays respect to French traditions, it stars “classic dishes done our way”.
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SIGN UP“Nothing’s overly ‘done’,” MacDonald says. “There are only a few things going on the plate. There are no tricks.”
The chef calls out the boudin noir (a type of French blood sausage) made with an “enormous amount” of confit onion, secret five-spice blend, blood and smoked pork jowl. Pureed apples add sweetness, and a creamy cloud of mashed potato rounds it out. This one, MacDonald insists, will be a favourite – “once you get past the blood”.
Bistro Grenier’s version of a pisaladierre (savoury French tart) delivers Cantabrian anchovies – filleted in-house – confit onion and black olives on a slice of buttery buckwheat puff pastry.
In a sure-to-be-crowd-pleasing move, a bavette steak is grilled on a hibachi and glazed with a soy and mirin sauce not dissimilar to what’s used for yakitori – if that sauce was also infused with brown butter, rosemary and thyme. The flavour-packed beef comes with an entourage of triple-fried chippies and a non-creamy iteration of a pepper sauce.
Even the salads are taken up a notch. The salad lyonnaise is elevated with dry-cured bacon that’s been smoked, cooked, then crisped up. Confit duck wings sit among green mustard leaves dressed with a smoky vinegarette of Dijon and rendered bacon fat.
Claiming “no room” for dessert? Good luck. There’s pouding chomeur – or “poor man’s pudding” – a baked-to-order self-saucing maple-syrup pudding that nods to head chef Jesse Warkentin’s Canadian heritage, and a dark chocolate sorbet with Armagnac-soaked prunes.
While the food menu plays with classics, head of beverages Jordan Blackman has curated an “unapologetically French” wine list – with some local wines and “bits and pieces from across Europe and beyond” for good measure. Expect vintage and rare drops exclusive to the new mezzanine bistro – plus the anise-flavoured Ricard Pastis served tableside in the OG jugs for a bit of pre-dinner theatre.
While it’s business as usual for the wine bar downstairs, the loft is now its own thing. Their motto? Les cingles sont les bienvenus – “the freaks are welcome”.
Bistro Grenier
266 King Street, Newtown
(02) 8317 3057
Hours:
Wed 4pm–11pm
Thurs 4pm–midnight
Fri & Sat midday–1am
Sun midday–10pm
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