Old Friend review — Simon Wilkinson finds a bar and eatery that’s generous to a fault
A NEW city bar and eatery has a few design challenges but its generous serves and bold flavours will make you feel right at home.
AS far as emojis go, this one has more than a little raffish charm. The design is simple: a wide grin in a circle, with an “O” as one eye and an “F” for the other, which might, or might not, be intended as a wink.
The letters stand for Old Friend, a name that, along with the logo, seem intended to extend a welcome to this recently opened bar and eatery in Pirie St.
The latest venture for the Bloody Mary Group, which has Stone’s Throw, The Archer and The Saracen’s Head hotel among others on its books, isn’t without its challenges.
Previously Pirie & Co, and before that part of The Wine Underground, the property at No. 121 is deep and narrow, with limited territory on the street.
Renovations to create a new outdoor zone at the front, complete with a coffee machine to lure in passing foot traffic, have been stymied for now by the midwinter chill.
A change in season will also add to the appeal of the room inside, where white walls, gleaming tiles and stone surfaces are more attuned to a night on the town than “put your feet up in front of the fire”.
A bar running all the way down the left seems to have the drinkers covered, while a communal table in the middle has its own design quirk (beyond a base of painted besser blocks), with the floor on one side higher than the other meaning that, even with different sized stools, couples facing each other probably won’t see eye-to-eye.
A more appealing option, at least for an extended stay, are the row of tables spaced along the padded banquette on the other side. This is where the after-work crowd are seated when we arrive but, when they all depart in unison as if they’ve heard a fire alarm, the only company left is an easygoing manager who offers drinks and guidance on a menu that has shrunk considerably from the website version.
He cautions against ordering starters as well as mains because of the serving size, a warning that might not be good for business but, on reflection, is justified.
While the setting might lack a little in personality, the cooking is custom-made
for the “Old Friend” theme, with its
generous-to-a-fault portions and occasional one-ingredient-too-many combinations reminding me most of a dinner party at a mate’s place.
Chef Cal Stuart-Bishop has worked in the kitchens of Andre’s Cucina and, most recently, Stone’s Throw, a background that might explain his commitment to decent produce and big, bold flavours.
Ignoring the earlier advice, we start with a few snacks. Crisped-up focaccia squares are smeared with squished tomatoes and topped by a curled white anchovy fillet.
“Popcorn prawn” pieces in a crisp batter are lifted by a puddle of hummus, a hefty sprinkling of sumac and sesame seeds, as well as splotches of chilli sauce.
Beef carpaccio slices require a search and rescue mission to locate under a jumble including pickled mushroom pieces, fried enoki, celery leaves, parsley and shavings of cured egg yolk.
A papa-bear-sized bowl of rabbit tagliatelle is also buried, this time under a dominant mat of fried breadcrumbs and grated pecorino.
Pasta that is cooked until it has lost most of its bite also doesn’t help but the shreds of moist braised bunny meat are in ample supply and lovely on their own.
Beef cheek, on the other hand, revels in its company. The dense puck of meat couldn’t be handled any better, dark lobes peeling away easily to load up with sweet potato, stewed onion, fresh grated horseradish and a stack of herbs.
Ditto for the “porchetta”, a big slab of rolled shoulder, that is well matched by wilted silver beet, wedges of spiced apple and shards of crackling.
It’s all the sort of gear you might knock up on the weekend, if you didn’t have 20 other things to do before dinner guests arrived.
Throw in a “pasta e fagioli” that, despite lacking any trace of beans, is a bargain bowl of belly-warming goodness for workday lunches and this is a friend that will help put a smile on your face. Emoji and all.
OLD FRIEND
121 Pirie St, city, 8223 3448; oldfriend.com.au
OWNER Bloody Mary Group CHEF Cal Stuart-Bishop FOOD Contemporary SMALL $8-$12 STARTERS $12-$27 MAINS $24-$29
DESSERT $12-$14
DRINKS Single-page wine list covering most styles and budgets, topped off with Penfolds big ticket reds. Classic and creative cocktail options. BYO $20
Open for
BREAKFAST and LUNCH Mon-Fri
DINNER Thu-Sat
Score 6.5/10