With Sydney still digesting the influx of Korean restaurants, omakases and barbecues, from this week the city has a Korean wine bar to add to the list, from the crew at the hatted Soul Dining.

Bar Soul, in Surry Hills, explores the less-travelled intersection of wine and Korean food.

“Korean food is rarely associated with wine,” says co-owner Illa Kim. That’s something head chef Sunny Ryu (ex-Quay and Michelin-starred Seoul restaurant Ryunique) will look to remedy.

“Pairing a Touriga Nacional with our dry-aged duck with sweet potato puree and Korean cabbage salad is a revelation,” Kim says.

She points to the scallop crudo with “Korean ajo blanco” as a favourite during pre-opening menu tastings.

The 30-seat Bar Soul has opened at the former site of sibling venue Soul Deli, which has relocated down the hill to the old Baccomatto Osteria digs on Riley Street (so fear not, you can still satisfy your hankering for the deli’s kimchi and KFC hotcakes).

“We’ve totally changed the look of the space for Bar Soul. The walls, new mustard-yellow banquettes, new furniture and Korean art [traditional folk Minhwa prints], plus storage for 120 wines,” Kim says.

“We always wanted to do a wine bar, when the Riley Street space became available we [finally] had room,” she says of the shared ambition with husband and business partner, Daero Lee.

Kim points to the Domaine Anne Sophie Dubois L’Alchimiste Fleurie on the list as a wine that works well with Korean food: “It has the necessary acidity but is still savoury. And the tannins don’t overpower the food.”

“After exploring the offering at Bar Soul, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more of these ventures pop up across Sydney,” she says.

Open Tue-Sat dinner.

Shops 1-2, 185 Campbell Street, Surry Hills, instagram.com/barsoul