Walking into this chic yet cheery establishment underneath the Novotel, a friendly face from behind the fairy light-festooned bar is quick to greet you with an excellent suggestion: how about a glass of wine? The selection is not huge but pleasingly local, with several drops from the nearby Hunter that range from the Margan Family Style Range rosé to a De Iuliis shiraz. France and NZ are also represented – make ours a robust Amisfield pinot noir from Central Otago – and everything’s available by the glass. Capably made cocktails don’t exceed the $15 mark and boutique beers include Port Stephens’ Angry Man pale ale.
Michael Kearney’s establishment proves not as petite as it seems from outside, with a large room of mismatched lounge chairs and coffee tables, op-shop mirrors scattered around the walls and Frenchy décor, like posters of the Eiffel Tower and Le Chat Noir. No, this is not Montmartre, it’s Newcastle Beach, but get a glass, settle into one of those comfy chairs and soon you’ll have less to regret than Edith Piaf herself.