Sydney pub operators Drink ‘n’ Dine will this week throw open the doors to their new venue above the Norfolk Hotel, House of Crabs — described as “part crab shack, part dive bar, part Coyote ugly on acid.”
There’s great eating in the offing, but the drinks are going to be just as important. A $10 Peach Cobbler (Rye, peach, lemon, soda) will be hard to go past, but the Black Doctor Sazerac (Rye, cola syrup, bitters, orange) sounds just as tasty. And if it’s drinks for two you’re after, they’ll be dishing up Hurricane Fishbowls that are a mix of white and dark rum, orange, pineapple, grenadine and flaming passionfruit.
We asked Drink ‘n’ Dine’s Jaime Wirth a few questions about what to expect at House of Crabs.
What’s the idea behind House of Crabs? How did you come up with it?
“House of Crabs is our fantasy creation of a seafood joint floating somewhere between Louisiana, Coney Island and Sydney. It’s part crab shack, part dive bar, part Coyote Ugly on acid. It’s a bibs on, eat with your hands, share-between-friends affair where humans can become one with seafood….and beer. It was an idea that myself and Mike thought up when discussing ideas for upstairs at The Norfolk and we fleshed it out when travelling in the States in July.”
Were there any crab shacks that provided inspiration for this venue?
“Crab Boil is a pretty common restaurant concept in the states so we checked out a bunch when we went there recently. The Boiling Crab in LA is a crazy busy institution that was definately a inspiration for House of Crabs. We are also big fans of Luke’s Lobster in NY too. But ultimately the seafood availability and prices are very different between the states and Oz, so this is really our version of an American seafood restaurant, not an attempt at an entirely authentic one. Its Redfern style crabs! ”
Can punters expect to get messy (with crabs, that is)?
“Yep. Thats the whole point.”
You can get all the messy crab boil action at House of Crabs, 305 Cleveland St Redfern, from this Friday November 1st.
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