Spanton Hospitality, the team that brought you Piccolo Bar in Kings Cross, Australian Bartender mag and Sydney Bar Week have announced that they will be opening Vermuteria, a second venue in Kings Cross in January 2023, after successfully securing a liquor license for the premises, the former Café Hernandez on Kings Cross Road, last week.
Dave Spanton, founder of Australian Bartender Magazine, made his first outing into bar ownership when he took over the Piccolo Bar in 2020 and turned it into a neighbourhood aperitivo bar. Earlier this year the building that housed Café Hernandez, went up for sale, and Spanton saw an opportunity to revive another iconic Kings Cross venue.
Scheduled to open in January 2023, Vermuteria will be an old-school European aperitif wine bar and delicatessen. The site is currently being revived and refreshed to pay homage to the amazing history of the site. Michael Delany, who collaborated with Spanton on the refit of Piccolo Bar, is back on the tools with Vermuteria.
“Michael and I both share the vision to keep history alive in the venue while updating it and making it relevant to today’s market,” says Spanton. “I hope that you look at it and think it’s been just like that for many decades.”
Scheduled to open in January 2023, Vermuteria will be an old-school European aperitif wine bar and delicatessen. The site is currently being revived and refreshed to pay homage to the amazing history of the site. Michael Delany, who collaborated with Spanton on the refit of Piccolo Bar, is back on the tools with Vermuteria.
For the last 50 years (1972 – 2022) the Hernandez family ran a 24hr Spanish café (Hernandez Café) and coffee roastery. Over the years it was a regular haunt for late-night cabbies, celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Guns ‘n’ Roses, to power brokers like Kerry Packer and Paul Keating. Before the Hernandez family, it was a Polish Deli from around 1950 to 1970. “Some of the old wooden deli shelving has been restored and will feature as our back bar display,” says Spanton.
The idea for the new incarnation, Vermuteria, is to combine the Spanish history and the Polish Deli and honour the very old-school Spanish bars that specialise in Vermut (Spanish for Vermouth). There are also plans for a small delicatessen in the back of the bar where you can pick up a selection of hard-to-find items from bottled cocktails to balsamic vinegar and merch.
Spanton’s aim with the bar is to shine a light on aperitif wines like vermouth and sherry. “The cocktail list will champion fortified wine classics including such greats as the Adonis, the 20th Century Cocktail and our tasty house-made Sangria,” he says.
On the food front, expect tasty bar snacks like gildas and picos to cold plates of mortadella and salami. There will also be an extensive offering of tinned seafood like razor clams and sardine tails.
When it comes to the team, hospitality-veteran Michael Drescher (formerly Merlino & Co. & Neighbourhood Bondi) has been instrumental in getting Piccolo off the ground over the last 12 months. He has now moved into the role of General Manager across both Piccolo Bar and Vermuteria.
VERMUTERIA NOW HIRING:
With opening just around the corner, the team is on the hunt for a couple of new faces to work across both venues. Bartending skills and an interest in aperitif wines a big plus. Email your CV to michael@spantonmedia.com
Vermuteria
60 Kings Cross Road, Kings Cross
@vermuteriasydney