Snack Bar: $14 Martinis at Caravin, Something Something Bistro Pops Up and More Sydney Food News

What’s on around town

• Find $14 Martinis and Negronis at Potts Point favourite Caravin Deux. The team have you sorted for one happy hour, four days a week.

• Something Something Bistro is the Oxford Street pop-up to know. It arrives from third-gen Chinese duo Gaspar Tse (of Hotluck Club) and front-of-house legend Nance Liong (Lee Ho Fook Sydney, ex-Momofuku Seiobo). Find snacks (like siu mai doughnuts), larger plates (like scallion noodles and Sichuan sang yu), four house cocktails and a tight selection of wine. “It’s a small snapshot of the food we love to eat,” Tse says, “that draws from family meals, restaurant kitchens, late-night supper and walking snacks.” Thursdays and Fridays, from 5.30pm, until the end of September. 137 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst.

• Newtown’s Marani Deli is becoming a Georgian cafe for one day, on Sunday August 30. Good Stock Wine will be there pouring excellent wines, and there’ll be Georgian snacks to eat on the Newtown corner or take home. 10am till 4pm, walk-ins only.

• Three new bakeries have hit the Sydney scene in the last few weeks: one with a Michelin-credentialled pastry chef in the kitchen; one just up from its chef’s Surry Hills wine bar; and another where you’ll find our food editor’s favourite Portuguese tarts.

• I Maccheroni celebrates its 10th anniversary this September, and the team is serving a $59 three-course menu – nodding to the restaurant’s opening prices in 2016 – on all weekdays. Book in to dine on the most popular dishes of the last decade, like beef cheek ragu maccheroni and ricotta tiramisu.

• Sakura House is making Wednesday night better with a $25 highball and karaage combo. Walk-ins only, until September 30.

• Chefs in the Vines hits the Hunter Valley next month. The one-day event will be hosted at Pokolbin’s Spicers Guesthouse, with talent from Rick Stein at Bannisters Port Stephens, Orleana at Kingsford The Barossa, Eremo at Spicers Guesthouse, Botanica at Spicers Vineyard Escapes and more.

• Thursday lunches are sorted with $15 burgers at Chophouse. Expect house-made beef patties, cheese and onion on an AP bun, with plenty of house burger sauce. Take it away or dine in and pair it with a $10 tap beer special. Available throughout September.

• Firepop is hosting Goodstock Wine on Tuesday September 1 for a one-night-only trip to Georgia. Expect Firepop plates on a Georgian bent, along with three separate wine flights – three pours in white, amber and red.

• Former Aria head chef Simon Sandall – who’s also done stints at The Ritz Club and Les Ambassadeurs Club in London, and runs Hunters Hills dining room Boronia Kitchen – has been announced as the lead of the three food and drink venues opening within Powerhouse Parramatta in November. Expect a large restaurant, a bar and a cafe. More details to come.

• The carby bunch at Sonoma have collaborated with Young Henrys on a strictly limited loaf of bread: the Motorcycle Oil Miche. The dark, chewy-crusted loaf has gentle chocolate and coffee notes, and is available from September 4 to 6 from Sonoma’s stores and market stalls for $14. Until sold out.

• Toby Wilson is popping up on Enmore Road, taking over the Bar Demo kitchen on Sunday August 30. Expect chicken liver “Iced Vovos”, mortadella sandwiches and cheffy chocolate crackles alongside the bar’s usual line-up of excellent drinks. Walk-ins only, 4pm till 8pm.

What we covered this week

• First look: celebrated chef Louis Tikaram returns to Sydney to open Brisbane transplant Stanley, one of Australia’s top Cantonese restaurants. Its dim sum, live seafood and exceptional Peking duck have found a home on Manly Wharf.

• First look: an ex-Tetsuya’s chef opens a little bakery just up from his Surry Hills wine bar. Drop by for topsy-turvy cinnamon buns, house-baked Big Bird loaves and the same cheffy edge you find at 40 Res.

• First look: Glebe’s whimsical new bar leaves the seriousness behind, and looks to Eastern Europe with wine from Georgia and the Czech Republic, an apple crumble-esque cocktail and fresh-baked cakes.

• Score Ovaltine lattes, pastries from a chef with Michelin cred and creative plays on brekkie classics at a new South Sydney cafe.

• A beachy Chin Chin outpost is on its way, Sydney – and there are two founding chefs in the kitchen.

• Coming soon: Ama’s follow-up will bring the spicy sour flavours of Thailand’s Isan region to Crown Street.

• Dreamy new cafe Adelaide’s Kitchen launches with a bang in Paddington.

• Coming soon: Mat Lindsay is opening a 12-seat bar just around the corner from Ester.

You might’ve missed

• La Buvette dials France at the Paris end of Potts Point.

• A Malaysian beer hall – with brews from all over Southeast Asia – is readying to open in the CBD.

• One of the world’s best chefs is coming to Sydney to open her first fine diner outside of Thailand.