Now Open: Rosenbaum and Fuller, an All-Day Venue From an Award-Winning Bartender

Sydney is home to plenty of cafes and bars, but not many are set up to be both. That’s the idea Lee Potter Cavanagh had for Rosenbaum and Fuller – the all-day bistro that’s taken over the space formerly known as The Crossing, just off Hall Street in Bondi.

“A lot of places that used to specialise in cocktails are now mixing it in with other offerings,” he says. “We’re seeing less separation between bars and restaurants and more venues doing everything under one roof.”

Potter Cavanagh has worked in places including East Village, The Victoria Room and Canberra’s Akhiba, and was crowned 2015 bartender of the year by Bartender Magazine. He’s brought in Toby Marshall (formerly of Charlie Parker’s) to help behind the bar and chef Rob Rietveld (Clareville Kiosk) is in the kitchen turning out pretty looking dishes.

The morning trade can enjoy coffee by Edition and dishes such as summer porridge made with chia, coconut and strawberry, or pan-fried gnocchi with mushrooms and poached eggs. Come evenings the pan-fried gnocchi is served with cabbage and broad beans. There are also a couple sandwiches (we like the sound of the cheese toastie, with Dijon mustard) and the refreshing strawberry kombucha iceblock to combat the summer heat.

For dinner you can get Sydney rock oysters with a fermented onion mignonette; green-pea hummus served with witlof; “fingers” of tofu coated in miso and broccoli; and leek terrine with cashew butter. Or, if you can’t decide there’s a $49 feed-me option.

The space transitions easily from day to night. There are some tables out the front for dining in the sun, and inside plenty of natural light, pale timber and bunches of dried native plants hanging from the ceiling. Dangling is a theme here – over the bar there’s an array of bottles of booze hooked on ropes (reminiscent of one of Melbourne’s best bars, the now-closed Der Raum) ready to be grabbed for making cocktails.

This summer you can expect super refreshing drinks such as gin mixed with dry vermouth, citrus and river mint, or sparkling wine with watermelon and lemon myrtle. “A lot of bars don’t really think about their cocktail mixers in a seasonal way and end up using the same line all the time. We want to start looking at this and working with Indigenous food companies for native ingredients,” he says.

Beers are all brewed in Sydney and there’s plenty of on-trend wines such as Mclaren Vale’s Inkwell and Si Vintners from Margaret River.

Rosenbaum and Fuller
13 O’Brien Street, Bondi Beach
(02) 9365 4134

Hours:
Mon to Sat 8am–12am
Sun 8am–10pm

rosenbaumandfuller.com

This article first appeared on Broadsheet on December 17, 2019. Menu items may have changed since publication.