French technique, Aussie flavours and nods to Thailand, Japan and China – plus top-notch whisky, cocktails and wine – are what you can expect to find at Ennui, now open. The new restaurant and bar is housed inside a 178-year-old building in Haymarket, across the road from Sydney’s Capitol Theatre, making it a good-looking option for pre- and post-theatre dining. Pronounced on-wee, the two-storey venue is headed up by some cool talent, who also happen to be great mates: Thomas Bromwich, the former chef at Love, Tilly Devine, Hartsyard, and Tasmania’s Stillwater; Samuel Woods, former Love, Tilly Devine manager and sommelier, who is currently at Yellow; and whisky gun Peter Chan.
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“We wanted to do something different, somewhere that’s refined yet affordable and run completely independently,” says Bromwich. “We’re putting in the extra effort in the kitchen and the bar so our guests can eat and drink sustainable Australian ingredients – without the prices being prohibitively expensive, all the while reopening a part of Sydney’s historic architecture to the public for the first time in many years.”
Speaking of Aussie ingredients, the team is sourcing beautiful fresh produce from Newcastle Greens, Block 11, Stix Farm and Mussett Holdings, among others. The menu features French techniques with nostalgic touches from Woods’s Thai heritage and time spent in Japan. And their signature is a riff on Peking duck.
“It’s a cross between Peking duck and duck à l’orange, and a dish we’ve been working on for years,” says Woods. “The ducks are hand-salted, cured, boiled with aromats, glazed and dry-aged, then smoked, roasted, and finally fried. It’s a process that takes a couple of weeks.”
Other menu highlights include fried chicken wings, inspired by the ones Woods’ mum Noi made for him growing up, as well as chicken liver parfait éclair with burnt onion and date jam, snapper and prawn dumplings with a bisque, cockles with jamón and parsley butter, and for dessert, mandarin sorbet with Champagne jelly and white chocolate.
Drinks are a big focus at Ennui, with the team bringing on former Earl’s Juke Joint bartender Kiaran Bryant to create the cocktail list. Wines are sourced from Australia, France, Italy and Germany, and whisky is plucked from Chan’s personal collection, including a super-special Japanese tipple that’s been aged for 18 years in Japanese mizunara oak casks.
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