Confucius Say…It’s Your New City Laneway Local
Posted on 15. Apr, 2010 by Cherry Picked in Eat+Drink
Grasshopper Opens
We love new bars, especially when they are small and intimate and tucked down a blink-and-you-will-miss-it laneway. Welcome to Grasshopper, the latest addition to Sydney’s ever-growing list of small bar establishments, that opened on Monday.
Grasshopper is the brainchild of John Toubia, Richard Duff, Martin O’Sullivan and Belinda Lai, the team behind the popular art-establishment come watering hole, Seven Metre Bar, that formed part of the Laneways By George Festival earlier this year.
After searching high and low the owners stumbled upon an old printing shop that was going out of business at the end of a council laneway. They did a deal with the City and now inhabit a hidden space in the recently named “Temperance Lane”. Haven’t heard of it? Neither had we. The naming of this lane is so new, that it still doesn’t have street numbers.
Step inside and you’ll congratulate yourself on making the effort to seek Grasshopper out. Downstairs in the bar and lounge you’ll be greeted with a relaxed atmosphere, vintage furniture collected from op-shops and auction houses, a heavy wooden bar and banquettes made using recycled fence pailings and marshall arts inspired wallpaper. It’s quirky, it’s different and it works.
Order from their cocktail menu consisting of no names, only numbers listed 1 through 10 with ingredients detailed using old fashioned measurements such as a “pony” of French Brandy (meaning 30 ml). We’re told the list will be updated regularly with the second installment to continue with cocktails #11 – #21.
Upstairs you’ll discover an inviting dining room, with polished floor boards and a big blackboard detailing their extensive selection of French cheeses. The fare is a mix of old English and European styles using classic ingredients and techniques that have been updated. Choose from dishes such as the “Scotch” Quail Eggs, Lamb with Potato, Peas & Mint and Onglet Steak en Eshallot. It’s bound to become your new local.
Choose Wisely Grasshopper.
Grasshopper – Temperance Lane (between 387 – 389 George Street, btw Market & King Streets)
Operating Hours: Bar: Monday – Friday, midday – 1am
Restaurant: Monday – Friday, midday – 3:30pm & 6:30pm – midnight
2 Responses to “Confucius Say…It’s Your New City Laneway Local”
Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!
What a great resource!