The Morrison Bar and Oyster Room

A welcomed overhaul has transformed this large space on George Street into an authentic New York style brasserie. The spacious 250-seat venue spans three different spaces: the Oyster Room (taking centre stage on the front stoop), the Parlour (the bottom bar) and the Conservatory, an outdoor terrace, all with ultra-modern decor and an industrial feel.

Fresh produce and ingredients are the key to the venue’s modern Australian cuisine, with a strong emphasis on the popular, but somewhat forgotten, Oyster Bar. The Morrison offers up to five different freshly shucked oysters per day, including the Coffin Bay Angassi and the Port Stephens Rock, served with lemon, homemade tomato sauce with fresh horseradish and vinaigrette. Varieties differ from week to week and all are shucked to order. On Wednesdays, oysters are just $1 each from 5-7pm.

Head chef Sean Connolly achieves complex flavours by cooking on the bone or in the shell, so try the southern style fried chicken lollipops and the heritage pork chop. Get a side of the thrice-cooked duck fat chips (like Heston does them), or for something lighter, try a crab and lettuce taco.

You’ll need a drink to wash it down and the bar offering here is extensive. Using unique flavours and ingredients, the innovative signature cocktails include the Sweet Rhubarb (rhubarb, agave and pomegranate grenadine), the tropical Castro (whiskey smoked pineapple and spiced rum, and the warming Winter Dust (tequila, hibiscus tea reduction and habanero shrub). But drink bubbles with your molluscs – it’ll make the slurping and sucking seem so much more sophisticated.