• What to expect when Merivale venue, Fred's, opens this week

Any bar menu with a dish of burnt caramel ice cream with Goslings Rum has its share of head-turners, but Sam Egerton has a hunch chef Danielle Alvarez's almonds "cooked" with oil and herbs will be Charlie Parker's signature bar snack. The basement bar attached to Fred's, the latest Paddington restaurant from Merivale, Charlie Parker's has its own charm.

"The building was originally a roadhouse in the 1850s, the bar area used to be used to make blinds. We've kept some of the stuff we found still hanging on the walls," says Egerton, the project's head of operations.

With views onto the laneway behind the Oxford Street venue, Charlie Parker's is aiming to be a good local first.

"Bars can be good at making drinks but the food often feels tacked on. We've put time into the menu. [Bar manager] Toby Marshall and I have worked on holistic approach, we're trying to deliver a great neighbourhood bar," Egerton adds.

Open Tues-Thurs 5pm-midnight; Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat midday-noon; Sunday midday-10pm

380 Oxford Street, Paddington, 02 9240 3000, merivale.com.au