The rebirthed Eau de Vie opens in the Sydney CBD this weekend, joining the city’s fever for back-lane bar action and reimagined vol-au-vents.

More on those vol-au-vents later. The new Eau de Vie is a confusing tangle of a George Street address and Wynyard Lane entrance.

“Easy to get to but difficult to find,” says co-owner Sven Almenning. The saying has become something of a mantra for his Speakeasy Group.

The original Eau de Vie was tucked away at the back of the Kirketon Hotel in Darlinghurst.

When the lockout laws and then the pandemic hit, Almenning says he and business partner Greg Sanderson saw the writing on the wall for the area. They couldn’t negotiate a new rent deal, so they walked.

“You want to be surrounded by other venues, people now come to the city to go out,” he says. And they have CBD experience with their Eau de Vie satellite venue in Melbourne.

Part of a two-in-one hospitality play, Eau de Vie opens in the basement on Saturday, May 20, while sister restaurant, The Sanderson, opens above it the week after.

Eau de Vie deliberately taps the moody essence of the Darlinghurst original. “It’s a more grown-up version, but still focuses on the speakeasy vibe,” Almenning says.

A mix of booths and bar stools inhabit a dark space of leadlight fittings. There’s a cute nook booth, and a whisky room decorated with bottle lockers. Customers can buy a bottle and store it there.

“We’ve already sold half of them,” Almenning says. EDV classics such as the Espresso Zabaione and Smokey Rob Roy have survived the journey to the city, with the bar’s owner particularly excited by the addition of a display case of cheese and charcuterie.

Head chef at The Sanderson, James Green, also oversees the food menu at Eau de Vie.

He finds it difficult to pick out favourites, but points to the scallop crudo with taramasalata and radish, and lamb croquettes with saffron aioli, as good places to start.

A sweet-savoury “foie-rero rocher” is perfect for finishing a meal or pairing with a dessert cocktail.

The dish is an obvious play on Ferrero Rocher balls, and is made from a foie gras ganache with a hazelnut centre that’s rolled in chocolate and hazelnut pieces and served on top of shiny “chocolate foil”.

And the vol-au-vents? With everywhere from Porcine to Monopole giving the 1970s staple menu exposure, Eau de Vie brings a clever twist to the filled pastry classic with a shiitake vol-au-vent with creamed leek and ricotta salata.

Open Tue-Sat 4pm-2am.

285 George Street (enter via Wynyard Lane), eaudevie.com.au