Oysters freshly shucked right in front of your very eyes, a considered drinks list spanning everything from coastal whiskies to sake, Champagne and Martinis, and a soundtrack of old-school piano tunes is what you can expect to find at The Hook when it opens in Kings Cross early May. The retro oyster den is spearheaded by Dave Spanton, the legend behind neon-hued favourites Piccolo Bar and Vermuteria. It’s taking over the former home of Izgara (which has moved to the CBD) on Bayswater Road.
Spanton says to Time Out: “I walk past the site every day, and one day when it was empty I saw this incredible horseshoe bar. I imagined myself sitting at the bar, watching oysters shucked to order, drinking a Guinness, with old-school music playing. It was a lightbulb moment.”
While there will be a cracking cheeseburger, chips and other snacks on the menu, The Hook is going to be a real-deal oyster bar – so the focal point will be the ocean’s briny, salty, creamy mollusks. Just like the bars Spanton loves in San Francisco and New Orleans. There will be a selection of oysters from different regions available each week served fresh, and also done in a bunch of ways. Think: oyster mornay, oysters Kilpatrick, oysters Rockefeller, and fried oysters.
“I think it's something that we miss in Sydney,” Spanton says. “Often when you order oysters they are shucked in the kitchen, and you miss out on that theatre, or it’s done days before. We want to do it properly. Where people can see us and we can make them happy.”
Spanton has once again teamed up with artist and designer Michael Delany to fit out the space. He tells us The Hook will be dark and moody, with lots of greens and reds, vintage pictures and old beer signs, all from Spanton’s own collection. And just like Vermuteria and Piccolo Bar, it will look like it’s always been there.
The fun doesn't stop there. The Hook will also have its own grand piano, and a few nights a week someone will be playing old-school songs. When no one is on, The Hook will be soundtracked to ’80s hits, from Fleetwood Mac to Phil Collins and Billy Joel.
“I’ve always loved oysters, so this is a dream of mine. And now with The Hook, we will have a Bermuda Triangle of bars (Piccolo bar and Vermuteria are nearby.) We will have them on a coaster, so people can check them out. We’re doing our best to make Kings Cross great again, and we can’t wait to open.”
We can't wait too. We're hooked.
