First look at new Hutt Street bar from the Part Time Lover crew
A new custom dining experience and bar opens this week from the team behind Sofia Bistro and Part Time Lover where anything can happen, from flying in one Port Lincoln tuna to a Lebanese twist on caviar.
At Hutt Street’s Bar Sofia, many things can happen.
One night, visitors treat themselves to an apéritif before dinner or an ouzo chocolate ganache with a glass of brandy afterwards.
The next night, a private function enjoys a bespoke custom dining experience, curated alongside executive chef Tom Robinson, formerly of The Lane Vineyard.
“We’re going to morph into whatever we are, Adelaide will tell us what we’re going to be in this little room,” says owner Josh Baker, speaking to CityMag alongside Robinson and Sofia Bistro executive Chef Stewart Wesson.
Those drawn in by the orange beacon of Bar Sofia’s signage won’t always find a seat – but that’s part of the ethos. Best laid out by the motto ‘Try Your Luck’ emblazoned on the front, referencing both diners vying for a spot and the owner’s own luck in snatching the adjacent space next door to their existing Hutt Street bistro, Sofia.
“We thought it was just a great idea for us to build a room that can house large family groups and big bookings to have their own little space,” Baker says.
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“As we started to progress in the design stage we realised we’ve got the ability here to put in another bar and another kitchen…we’ve got this opportunity to create such a beautiful space, which is a similar feel to Sofia, but a bit more dark and moody.”
The team focus on making sure each of their venues – including Part Time Lover on Paul Kelly Lane and the existing Sofia – has its own identity while staying connected, so diners journeying between bar and restaurant don’t feel like they’re on repeat.
“You can come here and have a snack before dinner, and it’s not gonna be like ‘oh, I had that exactly the same [at Sofia]”, says Baker. “In the bar, it’s a bit more fun, bit zingy, going to get your palette going.”
Robinson and Wesson put together a bar menu with influences from all over the Mediterranean. Robinson’s top choices are the crudités plate, a brûléed saganaki, and a caviar dish dreamed up by Wesson.
“I won’t often give Wesso [Wesson] praise,” Robinson joked, “but he’s got this Lebanese caviar service he’s come up with, which is a really cool spin on the old-style caviar you know.”
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The trio are most excited about creating curated private dining experiences, allowing diners to book the space out and build their own dinner party for any occasion – similar to the level of service couples planning a wedding would have with a caterer.
The idea came from a desire to do things that aren’t usually feasible in traditional restaurant kitchens, Robinson saying the team often sit around talking about hospitality industry trends, how they love to dine, and brainstorming “wild ideas”.
“But to bring that to the public can be difficult, because it needs to fit into menu formats,” Robinson says.
“Otherwise, it doesn’t work,” Baker says, agreeing, “but what the Bar Sofia gives us is it can be a once-off, so we can shoot for the moon.
“We can fly a whole tuna in from Port Lincoln and break it down and do 10 courses out of it.”
Renovating the space hit a snag in March during the Adelaide Fringe when a fire broke out next door at Sofia. “It was pretty bad”, Baker says, “thank God, no one was hurt. We had to take down about 30 per cent of the ceiling inside Sofia.”
He’s incredibly thankful to the Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) and the team of tradesmen renovating Bar Sofia at the time. Attention pivoted to fixing the damage in the bistro and they were back in the kitchen two weeks later.
“The MFS was fantastic. They got here so fast. If it was any longer, I think that we would not be really sitting having this conversation.”
Bar Sofia opens tonight with a private function, and visitors are welcome to try their luck visiting the bar from 3.00 pm Friday May 15, with regular opening hours from Wednesday to Sunday.
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