I often wonder how people working in Surry Hills ever make it home for a nice home-cooked meal. You have to stealthily navigate your route to the 389 bus else you’ll end up in another die-for bar, a glass of sake-spiked negroni in your hand while snapping a twig of deep-fried salt bush from its branch. It’s my bad sense of direction I blame for ending up yet again in one of my favourite bars in the city; the dark, moody and slick Bar H.

Since I’m here propped at the long bar facing the open kitchen, I’ll go for the Hiramasa kingfish sashimi with yuzu kosho and nori. It’s a light, fresh dish using Japan’s kind-of-like-grapefruit citrus, and works perfectly with a glass of 2014 Wagner Stempe Silvaner. The kangaroo tartare is soft, umami rich and topped with a soy cured yolk, and there’s a rice cracker for scooping.

The food hints at Ingham’s pedigree, including a stint at Billy Kwong’s, his own The Woods in Sydney’s The Four Seasons Hotel (now closed), and perhaps most notably, Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse in California. Each mark a dedication to the ingredient, its provenance, and simple cooking.

The drinks list is another reason to go here. The sake sour and a white Niwa involves yuzushu, Melbourne Gin Co Gin, Mainenii Dry vermouth and cucumber. There’s an impressive sake menu, and the wine list is heavily international. You can come here just for a tipple and then eat at home but, you know, since you’re here.
Tel: 02 9280 1980

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