Chef Matt Breen, of natural wine bar Sonny, has opened Ogee, a Euro-style bistro in the back streets of North Hobart, Tasmania.

The corner-facing spot hasn’t had the best run, with a failed wine bar and fondue shop in its wake, but Breen’s not worried in the slightest. Templo, which he opened in 2015 and sold to business partner Chris Chapple three years later, is not on the way to anywhere and it’s still full every night. 

The 24-seater has been given a full refurb, with matte black paintwork inside and out and a curved bar with eight soft stools for perching. For a tiny venue, the dining room is spacious, with five or so low tables and a couple of high tops for larger groups. The bathrooms, cleverly hidden behind floor to ceiling red-velvet curtains. 

Breen is pitching it as a “Euro-Italian vibe with a few elements of Sonny,” his pocket-sized Elizabeth Street wine bar. Sonny, which attracts a line of eager punters hours before opening, runs a blackboard menu of pastas and elevated bar snacks off two hot plates and a toaster, so it’ll be nice to see what Breen gets up with a full kitchen.

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It’s early days (the venue officially opens on Thursday, September 15), but the exclusively a la carte offering has a strong focus on pasta and “things on sticks,” Breen says, like octopus, olive and anchovy gildas. He also has a whole-animal approach, expect to see crumbed, deep-fried lamb brains and cotoletta made with secondary cuts, too. 

Long-time friend and collaborator Rachelle Guastella runs Ogee’s front of house, including the list of minimal intervention wines that leans heavily on France and Italy with a few well-known Aussies in the mix (Mac Forbes, Utzinger, BK and Latta Vino).  

It was Guastella who suggested calling the venue “Ogee,” an architectural term for an S-shaped line or moulding. She came across it some years back in a newspaper crossword (the clue: a union of curves) and, thinking it was a very nice word indeed, squirrelled it away for just the right moment. 

It’s walk-ins only, but don’t let the limited seating or Breen’s reputation for packing out venues put you off. The Crescent Hotel, just over the road, is a great place to knock back a couple of craft beers while you wait.  

Ogee
374 Murray Street, Hobart
Thur-Sun 5pm-late
Ogeehobart.com.au

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