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The saying goes that good things come in small packages. It has never seemed more true than sitting on a stool one Sunday afternoon at Hey Rosey, Orange’s anchovy-tin-sized wine bar on Summer Street (the site was a locksmith in its former life, so that helps you picture just how small it is).
Funky art and vintage posters dress the walls alongside vintage knick knacks, jars of pickles and booze. There’s a retro lime-green light next to a record spinning vinyl hits and, down the back, a few tables of four. There’s a kind of effortlessly cool Melburnian magic to Hey Rosey, and even the view outside – looking out to a kebab shop, tobacconist and a Chinese restaurant – makes you feel like you could be somewhere along Fitzroy Street – not in the countryside.
But one glance down at the by-the-glass list – which mostly features wines from Orange and Mudgee, alongside beers from Bathurst, plus Martinis, Spritzes and a couple of vinos from Europe – makes it clear where I am.
I can’t not start with a glass of ‘Hey Rosé’ by Tristian Clark, a 2023 sparkling rosé blend of shiraz, sangiovese, zinfandel and merlot grapes from Mudgee. Light pink with soft bubbles, it tastes like strawberries and picnics in the sunshine. I’ll have another, please.
A couple walks in and takes a seat next to me, and co-owner Leigh Oliver welcomes them by name, knows their order and, soon enough, two Limoncello Spritzes are placed down in front of them, with lasagna on the way. How good.
Holding the fort alongside Oliver is head chef Hugh Piper, formerly of Sydney’s Dear Sainte Éloise. Here, there’s no kitchen per se (not even a room to do the dishes) but about a square metre of space where Piper does his thing – really well.
On the back of the menu there’s a list of cheeses with local honeycomb, salumi and a solid selection of tinned seafood from Spain. Read: yum, snacky things you want to enjoy with wine. But I’m here to check out the other menu, so I begin with egg with oeuf mayonnaise. The soft-boiled egg arrives cut in half, yolk-side down, and coated in a Pernod- and tarragon-spiked mayo. It’s crowned with bright-orange balls of salmon roe, delicate parsley flowers, cracked pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. A thick slice of bouncy sourdough from down-the-road bakery The Sugar Mill helps me mop up the creamy, salty sauce that’s laced with aniseed flavour, alongside the soft and gooey egg. It is so, so delicious.
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A plate of Rosnay organic figs grown in Canowindra is a perfect example of when produce is so good that very little needs to be done for it to shine. The fruit is topped with ricotta and a generous helping of prosciutto – the ideal creamy and salty counterparts to the sweet end-of-season figs. A drizzle of fig leaf oil and sharp chardonnay vinegar take it to the next level.
Anchovies on toast are hard to resist, and the one here delivers. The meaty fish packs a umami-punch on top of blackened toast spread with a Café de Rosey butter – full of flavour thanks to a Japanese curry mix and fresh herbs – as well as pickled chillies.
By this point my neighbour’s lasagna has arrived and it’s looking and smelling like something from Nonna’s kitchen. We get chatting and I find out they are the owners of a local café. To my right is the sommelier from Orange’s beloved The Union Bank having a knock-off tipple. The community spirit feels alive and I’m already smitten, but truthfully I have lasagna FOMO.
My greedy eyes are pulled back into my own lane when a beef tartare is placed in front of me. A spin on the sometimes-cloying original, Hey Rosey’s comes with tiny cubes of topside in a glossy burnt eggplant and fermented chilli sauce with tiny puffs of buckwheat underneath lettuce grown at a friend’s farm. It’s lighter than France’s, the smokiness adds another dimension, and the crunch of the buckwheat and rings of eschalot make it a winner. I finish with a glass of 2021 Amour Black Label shiraz from Orange, a medium-bodied drop singing of red fruit, and I don’t want to go.
While Hey Rosey is a bar first, restaurant second, who really cares when the eating and drinking tastes and feels this good? I think some of the best dining experiences to be had in New South Wales are found in wine bars. Places that are cool-yet-friendly, where chefs have the freedom to cook the things they want to be enjoying with their mates, and where you can pop in and the team knows you by name. Take 10 William St for example, or Bar Copains. And now, Hey Rosey is added to the top of my list.
So yes, as you can see, I’m crushing on Rosey, hard. She’s fun and sexy and serves plates I want to come back for and wine I’m still thinking about. Next time you see her – and I really recommend that you do – please tell her I say hey.
Time Out Sydney never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
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