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Coogee is so easy in summer. Hang out in the street, grab some sushi or gelato, have a swim, maybe knock back a beer. These colder, darker months are a little tougher, however, and the idea of sitting at an outdoor table in the whistling wind just isn’t as enticing.

That’s when you need a wine bar – a cosy corner with proper chefs cooking enticing food, and the prospect of good wine. And that’s easy for me to say, being tucked into a corner by the open kitchen at the Coogee Wine Room (CWR) with a glass of albarino and a crisp cube of potato roesti.

The CWR began as a more modest affair five years ago, opened by Thomas Hardwick and Michelle Morales. Why? Because they were locals. One of the best reasons to open a place to eat and drink is because you want what they’re having elsewhere in your own neighbourhood.

To that end, they installed a handsome marble bar, a serious walk-in wine room, and a casual menu of smoked hummus and charcuterie and cheese boards.

Five years on, the locals have not only taken to it, they’ve helped it morph from a wine bar with snacks into more of a restaurant with a strong focus on wine. Time for a refresh, then, with a new head chef in Ken Yong, former sous at Josh Niland’s Petermen in St Leonards. Yong and fellow chefs Victor Mazieri and Chester Chen worked together at Tetsuya’s many moons ago.

There’s a lot to like from the get-go. The solid cutlery with its vintage patina; the CWR-etched wine glasses; and the blackened Basque cheesecake resting on the kitchen counter in silent invitation.

CWR has morphed from a wine bar with snacks into more of a restaurant with a strong focus on wine. 

Staff are cheery and proactive, right up to head sommelier and host, Chris Ihm, formerly of Lindfield’s Cafe Lyon, who is clearly enjoying the award-winning cellar built on key varietals and regional styles.

Yong has lifted the menu somewhat, incorporating excellent snacks such as the aforementioned potato roesti ($8), which is cute, crisp and meltingly soft inside, roofed with caramelised onion.

Deep-fried doughnuts ($7 each) are topped with a juicy wad of Stone Axe wagyu beef shin that’s been braised for 14 hours in a Guinness beef master stock, inspired by Yong’s time at Oncore by Clare Smyth.

There’s a flamed fish crudo ($24) in a nice herb oil with a tumble of currants, parsley and pine nuts. Wagyu rump cap ($55) is popular, but for me, the highlight is an elegant chicken ballotine ($35).

The rolled and sliced meat is fringed with farce (stuffing) and crisped skin, presented with cauliflower florets, comte sauce and a nice jus. Team it with a bright, intense Abellio albarino ($17/75) or the 2020 Anduma Langhe nebbiolo ($19/85) for extra points.

I like the widespread use of herbs and the proper saucing, lightened with vegetables for meaty dishes and enriched with chicken fat for vegetable dishes; a neat balancing act.

Next up, the fish of the day (a tranche of salmon, $42) comes with such super-crisp skin, I suspect the judicious use of a Saint Peter fish weight – and I’m right. Beneath it, nicely cooked mussels in a buttery sauce with a fine chiffonade of greens and a pickle of onion.

As owner, Hardwick has been the chief wine buyer, crediting key suppliers, decades of cellar door visits and former sommeliers Brooke Adey and Bhatia Dheeraj with helping him learn the trade. It’s a rewarding list, hardworking and not particularly enamoured of the natural wine movement.

A platter of cheese is tempting – if only as bait to see that wine list again. But there’s always the Basque cheesecake ($14), served simply, with no adornment beyond its blackened crust, and all the better for it.

Coogee has a proper grown-up restaurant in the Coogee Wine Room, but, cleverly, you can still drop by for a charcuterie board and some smoked hummus. Spring and summer are on the way, after all.