First Look: A Scruffy King Street Corner Is Now South End, a Euro Diner Pursuing Simplicity

A soft pink corner on the quiet end of King Street now houses a little polished dining room: South End. Dip in the door and you’ll likely be greeted by co-owner Paul Guiney. In the gently lit room, he’ll see you to a bar seat. Or maybe a spot at the jumble of naked and white-clothed tables. Up the narrow hallway, past a private dining room, is a teeny kitchen where chefs Hussein Sarhan (ex-Fred’s head chef) and Alex Tong (ex-Ester sous) are at work.

“I don’t want to sound repetitious with what the boys have said, but the grace and level of flavour that they’re getting is from the pursuit of simplicity, of honesty,” Guiney tells Broadsheet. “There’s no hiding on any of the plates that they’re putting out. Just the detail and level of flavour, and the balance of seasoning that they’re achieving – the moves are relatively few.”

South End’s opening menu includes potato rosti topped with herby broad beans and locally made Gold Street curds; delicately fried zucchini; and a fresh little bowl that sings of spring: melon, cucumber and green almonds in ajo blanco, a chilled Spanish soup. Roast tomatoes are bashed into pesto trapanese, joining green beans, potatoes and purslane for a ripper salad. A dish of the lolly-shaped pasta caramelle, here stuffed with spring greens, comes slick with marjoram butter.

“The food is an amalgamation of countries that essentially view the Mediterranean,” Guiney says. “The lamb dish is served with a classic Italian way of braising peas, for example. But then the next dish has unashamedly French connotations, being a bouillabaisse. But it doesn’t look confused or sit uncomfortably next to each other on the menu.”

This trio are old hands in the hospitality scene. Sarhan brings Michelin cred from the UK, Tong brings it from Hong Kong. And the team jokes that Guiney – who’s been everywhere from AP Bread & Wine, the Bentley Group, Embla and more – is 750 years old. That’s how much Sydney hospo lore he brings.

“Look when you essentially stand in one spot for as long as I have, a lot of people in that city will eventually walk past you and say, ‘Good evening, we have a booking for a table of two’,” he laughs. “It’s nice that people have reached out... and just proves that there is a really great community in our industry. And being 750 years old kinda helps as well.”

Guiney leads a sharp drinks list. Wine is by the glass and bottle, of course, spanning boutique Euro numbers and outstanding ones made closer to home. Plus, a few cocktails served straight from the freezer.

“To be able to continue to work with people for over a 20-year period, of buying their wine, whether it’s personally or professionally, and to hear their excitement and enthusiasm is quite humbling,” Guiney says. “It’s nice to be able to ring them and say, ‘Hey, I’m doing a little thing this time, for myself with a couple of friends, what have you got hiding in the corners that I might be able to work with?’”

“Bracingly cold” house Martinis are on gin, with a twist. And Guiney’s choice of a Vieux Carre marks the return of an oldie “from the canon of classics”. Rye whisky, vermouth and a dash of “really high quality” Japanese absinthe meet in the glass, seasoned with bitters and sugar. “It’s stiff, it’s punchy, but it’s textured and layered. It really makes a delicious way to start or end an evening – or even bookend. Do both!”

South End’s menu will be ever-changing, working with produce deliveries of the day. The guiding principle? Simplicity. And laziness.

“We’re extremely lazy,” laughs Sarhan. “If you use good produce you can indulge in your laziness and do as little as possible to it. Do as little as you can. Some things require a little bit of work behind the scenes to make it right. It’s a small kitchen, we’re just going to do it really direct, really fresh."

South End
644 King Street, Newtown

Hours:
Thu & Fri 5pm–late
Sat & Sun lunch from midday, dinner from 5pm

@southend_syd