A pioneering newcomer with a focus on sustainability that takes cocktails to a higher plane.
There are bars that push boundaries and break barriers, and then there’s Re. Billed as a “regenerative drinking experience”, this is a watering hole that’s built almost entirely on waste. What appears to be leather lining the banquettes is actually fibre derived from pineapple leaves. The light fixtures and wine coolers are fashioned from mycelium – the spindly part of fungi. And the bar top, which looks like terrazzo, is made of plastic milk bottles diverted from landfill.
If this all strikes you as a PR stunt or a case of greenwashing, it’s useful to know that founder Matt Whiley (best known for his world-famous London bar, Scout, which popped up in Sydney for a short stint in 2019) and his business partner, Maurice Terzini (the restaurateur behind the legendary Icebergs Dining Room and Bar), are walking the walk. Cocktails are built, shaken and stirred with surplus produce and served in imperfect glassware from Maison Balzac’s reject pile. Unless they’re entirely edible, garnishes are nowhere to be found – no single-use plastic mermaids bound for landfill here. Wines, meanwhile, are poured from 10-litre casks, and food arrives on Mud ceramics shaped with recycled clay, all reducing Re’s environmental footprint.
The eventual goal is to be entirely waste-free, and while they’re not there just yet, they’re certainly well on their way. The excitement lies in being a part of that journey and watching it unfold firsthand. And clearly it's being noticed – Re just landed spot number 87 on the World's 50 Best Bars list for 2022.
One of the many things Re manages to do so well is upend any preconceived notions of what a venue with an environmentally minded agenda should look and feel like. Housed in a former locomotive workshop, it is about as striking a bar as you’re likely to find, rich with heritage industrial details and sleek finishes.
Curious types will have plenty of questions, so it pays to settle in for the long haul and get a bit of an education. You may learn what famed designer Philippe Starck used to construct the bar stools (reclaimed materials swept up from warehouse floors) or just how much toasty intensity the addition of smoked wattleseed gives to a mandarin-scented Spritz.
Ask about chef Lewin White’s menu, and you’ll discover that it also revolves around excess produce, secondary cuts and kitchen scraps. Direct your eyes to the back corner, and you’ll spot the high-tech gadgetry used to extract the oil from leaves of lemon myrtle plucked from nearby trees and used to accent a vodka cocktail humming with white chocolate, mountain pepper and apple butter. There’s just so much to take in, and the more you find out, the more you want to know.
