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[title]When it was revealed in late 2020 that Sydney's CBD was scoring a new sky bar by the multi-award-winning team at Maybe Sammy, and that it would be an ode to the swagger and style of ‘60s New York, expectations were duly high. It’s hard to imagine a more simpatico synergy between a venue’s vibe and the brains behind it. No strangers to infusing a hospitality experience with a generous dose of retro theatricality, Stefano Cantino and Vince Lombardo were a dream fit for the drama and dazzle of the two-storey penthouse bar atop the new A from Adina hotel tower.
Their existing venues already channelled a Sinatra-fied brand of golden era Americana ideally suited to this glitzy space. “When I was growing up I loved swing music. Dean Martin, the Rat Pack – those kinds of singers made me happy all the time,” Cantino says of the pop-culture period that has so often been his muse. “Then I started to look into their life stories. I know men in that era were often kind of womanisers, right? But actually, they were cool, cool cats. They were the first Italians being cool after the war. And they always fought for human rights – for African Americans, for the Jewish community, always trying to protect. They never made fun of others or made fun of each other. And I love that.”
As well as having the right vision for Dean and Nancy on 22, high placings in the 50 Best Bars in the World rankings in 2019 and 2020, as well as scooping the Mitcher’s Art of Hospitality Award, would make Cantino and Lombardo's most ambitious venture to date a major drawcard of Sydney’s bar scene. “We were so lucky that we made the list before everything [the pandemic] happened. Because if we hadn’t made the list before it all shut down, I don’t think we would have had the opportunity to create this bar,” Cantino reflects.
When I was growing up I loved swing music. Dean Martin, the Rat Pack – those kinds of singers made me happy all the time
In its opening weeks in late May to early June of 2021, Dean and Nancy’s first punters were not disappointed. Early write-ups praised its glamorous interiors, stunning skyline views and creative cocktail menu. Despite not having the prettiest outlook from its perch 22 storeys above Hunter Street, its location surrounded on all sides by CBD skyscrapers actually proved a plus. At a glance – granted, a quick glance – you could almost imagine you were gazing out over the streets of Manhattan – a coup de théâtre that made Dean and Nancy on 22 an overnight hit.
However, behind the scenes, there was still some frustration amongst the creative team that the venue was not yet all it could be. “It is hard to distill a lot of different voices and everybody has their own priorities,” says Jane Strode, executive chef of Dean and Nancy on 22, formerly at Rockpool and Bistrode. Cantino concurs: “We had three big-name bartenders from London lined up to come and work here and they were all ready to come. But we just couldn’t get them into the country. It’s been a very, very tough moment for hospitality in Australia.”
But as much as the pandemic has posed problems for food and drink businesses, it would also reveal some unexpected upsides. Just five weeks after opening, Sydney’s Delta outbreak forced bars and restaurants across the city to close. Far from hunkering down until venues could reopen, Cantino, Lombardo and Strode spent their time pouring over the invaluable data they had collected during those precious opening weeks.
“It was a blessing for us, this lockdown, in a way, because we had the time to really understand the venue, you know? We changed the menu. We changed the way we serve it. We changed how bookings worked and how different parts of the bar worked because we learned about the space, we learned about the flow of the people, how they sit, where they sit,” Cantino explains. “We needed to learn what people actually like here. I always think that when you open a venue, you don't open it for your ego, you don't open for yourself. And you don't command the venue – the venue commands itself. She chooses the right customer. She chooses how people feel when they’re here, how they act, why they keep coming back. And you learn from her if you can.”
“I’ll admit that we didn't get it totally right the first time,” Strode says of the venue's opening menu. "But we had that five weeks of trading under our belts, so we used all that data and all that knowledge to kind of go, ‘Okay, this is what's really going to work in this particular venue.'”
You don't command the venue – the venue commands itself. And you learn from her if you can.
After more than three months of lockdown, the bar has emerged not so much as Dean and Nancy on 22, but more as Dean and Nancy 2.0. A more showstopping sit-down menu – think luxurious seafood towers, whole roast chickens, 600 gram ribeyes, and oh-so-retro bomb Alaskas – is now available exclusively at the booths of the main bar. "I like the idea of these tables being aspirational," Strode says. "So you've you've been at work, you've met the girlfriend or boyfriend or whatever, and you've come for a drink and then you see this amazing seafood tower come out or this beautiful roast chicken. I want people to want that. I want people to want to be at the table that order is going to."
The time to perfect has also been a blessing for the bar team, overseen by bar manager Stefano Filardi: "Myself and the team have grown a lot because it hasn’t always been easy, getting the balance right, making sure everything is as good as it can be. But I love the challenge." And ultimately, as Sydney's hottest new bar continues to cement its status as one of the most exciting joints in the city right now, a light is growing brighter at the end of the tunnel. "I can't bloody wait for all this Covid business to be over, so we can welcome all of our friends from overseas," Filardi says with a smile. "I'm so excited to show them what we've made."
Dean and Nancy on 22 is open Wed-Fri 4.30-11.30pm, at 2 Hunter St, CBD 2000.