Bar Morris

The lobby-level, 40-seater Bar Morris has the looks of a bar (and very good looks they are, too: lipstick-red tables, tiling and tassels, leather walls, art from local artists like Nick Herd, Gabrielle Jones and Marcus Piper), but the soul of a restaurant. You’re welcome to pull up a seat at the bar for a Spritz and a bowl of pasta, but the food and wine menus are both exciting enough to warrant a longer table booking. 

Even the music moves beyond the usual cookie-cutter bar-friendly Spotify playlists – although it was curated by a hospitality group who specialises in creating mood through music, the venue worked with it closely to push things a bit beyond the ordinary, and the tunes lean experimental rather than the usual bland background. 

What the service staff lack in experience they make up for with enthusiasm and they really know their stuff when it comes to both the drinks and the food menus – ask for advice and you’ll be steered well.

Chef Rosy Scatigna is one to watch. Born in Puglia and making her way around the usual Euro Michelin-star circuit she most recently worked as a senior sous-chef at Shell House in the CBD. But all the paper accolades in the world mean nothing until you try her food, and Rosy’s food comes to the party. 

If you’re just wanting a quick snack with your drink, the picks are the ’nduja madeleines, where the usual sugar component is replaced with 36-month-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and preserved lemon. The delicate swipe of spicy spreadable ’nduja sausage filling gets a second pork pop from slices of guanciale cured pork and the whole thing is dusted with tomato powder. The house-made panfocaccia is also a firework of flavour, brushed with Apulian olive oil and garlic and served with a garlic and Parmigiano butter.

Settling in for a whole bottle of something? The risotto rules – perhaps made with a butternut purée and lemongrass broth, raw prawn slices and a not-shy hit of vinegar reduction to ward off the danger of the risotto one-note trap.