Vermuteria
60 Kings Cross Road, Kings Cross
@vermuteriasydney
Dave Spanton who brought you Piccolo Bar in Kings Cross, and is Editor and Founder of Australian Bartender mag, is opening the doors to Vermuteria this Friday in the site of the former Café Hernandez on Kings Cross Road.
Vermuteria is an old-school European aperitif wine bar and delicatessen with a big focus on Vermouth and sherry.
“We’re really excited to offer two different vermouth blends direct from the barrels which are positioned directly above the bar,” says Spanton. “Guests can choose from our ‘Euro Sweet Rosso Blend’ and the ‘Aussie Pinot Noir Vermouth’ with the semi-dry Blanco Blend straight from the tap right alongside the icy cold Estrella Damm draught.”
With the help of Michael Delany (who collaborated with Spanton on Piccolo Bar and recently worked on the refurbished Abercrombie) the site has been revived and refreshed to pay homage to the amazing history of the old Café Hernandez site. “Michael and I are both obsessed with keeping the history alive in venues while updating it and making it relevant to today’s market. I really hope that you look at Vermuteria and think it’s been just like that for many decades but I can assure you a lot of sweat and hard work went into the new look.”
“We’re really excited to offer two different vermouth blends direct from the barrels which are positioned directly above the bar. Guests can choose from our ‘Euro Sweet Rosso Blend’ and the ‘Aussie Pinot Noir Vermouth’ with the semi-dry Blanco Blend straight from the tap right alongside the icy cold Estrella Damm draught.” – Dave Spanton, owner
Spanton made his first outing into bar ownership when he took over the Piccolo Bar in 2020 and turned it into a neighbourhood aperitivo bar. In early 2022, the building that housed Café Hernandez, went up for sale, and Spanton saw an opportunity to revive another iconic Kings Cross venue.
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.
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). The back section of the bar (where the coffee roaster used to live), has been transformed into a small European style deli where you can pick up hard-to-find sherries, vermouth, pickles, vinegar and some of the best bartending and drinks books you can find.
While sherry and vermouth are at the forefront, this neighbourhood bar is also offering a selection of classic, easy to drink cocktails. “The cocktail list will champion fortified wine classics including such greats as the Adonis, the Sherry Cobbler and our tasty house-made Sangria,” says Spanton.
On the food front, you can select from tasty bar snacks like gildas and picos to cold plates of mortadella and cheeses from local cheesemonger, Penny’s Cheese Shop. LP’s quality meats feature heavily with their boudin noir, chorizo and hot dogs all available. There will also be an extensive offering of tinned seafood like razor clams and sardine tails.
Working alongside Spanton, 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 will be opening this Friday, 24th February from 4pm till midnight. Initial opening nights are Thursday, Friday & Saturday from 4pm. For more follow us on insta @vermuteriasydney