Imagine a natural wine and record bar that takes its music so seriously only stirred cocktails are allowed. At Busby’s, which opens at Paddington’s Oxford House on Thursday, November 2, they don’t want the sound of bar staff shaking cocktails to interfere with the hi-fi output.

It isn’t exclusively tunes and drinks: one of the city’s top chefs, Clayton Wells, is overseeing Busby’s menu. And Wells is on board with deferring to the music.

“I had my light-bulb moment with music when Momofuku Seiobo opened, the power it can have with food,” the chef says.

“Music was a big part of Automata [Wells’ now-closed Chippendale restaurant]. There’s nothing like customers holding their phones up to Shazam a song.”

Wells is better known at the pointy end of Sydney dining, with the new natural wine bar part of his brief in a roaming creative culinary director role at Public Hospitality Group. Public has taken the cafe site at Oxford House and rebirthed it as Busby’s, which takes its name from convict-built Busby’s Bore – which moved water from the Centennial Park area to the city – and travels under the venue.

Working with Busby’s head chef Brendan Bullock, Wells explains their approach to writing the menu came from a less-travelled direction: “Lots of chefs create dishes and let the drinks follow, [but] here drinks are the starting point.”

Spicy jalapeno dressings that might overpower the natural wines don’t get a look-in. The duo match tuna crudo with grilled watermelon and kefir cream, a chicken liver parfait is paired with spiced pineapple and liquorice, and heirloom tomatoes are paired with blackberries and a mustard oil dressing.

“The music shouldn’t be interrupted,” says Public’s director of hospitality, Stefano Catino, who has helped assemble a team with gold disc potential.

Mike Bennie of P&V Merchants has pulled together a strong wine-by-the-glass list from Australian, French and Italian producers. Maybe Sammy’s Paolo Maffietti was recruited to create a “short and punchy” cocktail list.

“As a natural wine and hi-fi bar, we focus on flavour and origin of ingredients, and our cocktails embody Busby’s cool, laid-back feel,” Catino says. And there’s the music, which Catino gives a wide brief of post-punk, with residency and regulars DJs at the turntable.

Taking inspiration from Bambino in Paris and Bar Sway in Berlin, the former cafe space has been given a makeover, taking on claret tones and a moodier feel. Wells has also been working on a menu update at Oxford House’s Pool Bar, with more crudo and even a poke bowl in the works.

“At Busby’s, the menu is more than just food and drinks; it’s a journey through music and flavours,” Wells says.

Open Mon-Sat 5pm-11pm.

21 Oxford Street, Paddington