NOW EXPERIENCING:Hey Rosey
Monday: 5:00 – 11:00 PM
Website
heyrosey.com.au
Instagram
@heyroseybar

Read time 3 Mins

Posted 23 Jun 2025

By
Alexandra Carlton


Inside the bar Hey Rosey in Orange, regional NSW

This petit wine bar in Orange showcases standout local wines as well as labels from further afield, has a killer Martini menu and delivers the region’s tastiest snacks.

Patrons at the counter in Hey Rosey, Orange
Why you goOrange is one of NSW’s great wine towns, even if it can seem like it’s a touch overshadowed by its popular wedding-destination cousin, Mudgee. For that reason it’s not hard to find great wine at most of the venues in and around town, from the cellar doors to the very enjoyable Union Bank Hotel. Hey Rosey is no different but it offers a little bit extra: a superb range of spirits, deceptively simple but outstandingly good snacks and even what you might call “a Martini wardrobe”, offering different versions of the classic cocktail that you can mix and match depending on the weather or your mood. Add some solid tunes on the turntable, a small, attentive team and the sense that half the town ends up here for after-work drinks, and it might just be the best reason to book an Orange long weekend, stat.
What to eatThe Martinis are really great: choose from the classics or try a Hairy (comes with an anchovy), Fino (which arrives with a splash of sherry) or even a Saffron and Apple-Tini or Caviar-Tini. All choices are made with either Tanqueray 10 gin or Belvedere vodka. There’s a very nice wine selection from Orange, of course, but the net is also cast wide across the continents, with Italy represented (by the glass) by way of a Pieropan Soave and a fragrant gaglioppo from Calabria’s family-run Scala and nice Spanish Cava in the mix, too. The house rosé – known, winningly, as the Hey Rosé – is a lovely chardonnay pinot gris and riesling blend from gun local Renzaglia Wines.
Pouring three glasses of wine at Hey Rosey in Orange
One of the great snacks at Hey Rosey in Orange
What to eatJust like the Chrysler in the B52’s ‘Love Shack’, Hey Rosey seats about 20, so it’s pretty wild that they have the space to churn out such top-level food, yet they somehow find a way. Chef Hugh Piper once cooked at Dear Sainte Éloise and Love, Tilly Devine in Sydney, and he has a masterful way with acidity and funk. This can be found in tasty snackage like a pickled apricot, pork jowl and fig-leaf oil one-biter, a Comté tart with pickled leek, and even handmade pastas, such as cavatelli with a beef brisket ragù and fermented chilli. There’s also a very respectable selection of cheese and cured meats, which shows off some of the region’s producers, from Second Mouse Brie to mortadella, along with a massive selection of tinned fish from Spain and Italy.
Regular’s tipKeep an eye on the bar’s social media to find out about collaborations or wine tastings from local producers. They also offer a very generous “feed me” menu on Sundays and Monday roast dinner specials.
Who to takeOrange is a “romantic weekend away” destination, a favourite of Sydney-based couples looking to snatch a couple of days away from the desk job. But the region is also usually thought of as somewhere you’d only visit in autumn or winter, thanks to its frosty climate and “hunker down by the fire” vibes. In fact, the city also blossoms in the warmer months – spring and summer are fantastic times to make the most of the local produce, and even in the height of summer, the mercury rarely creeps above the low 30s.
Hey Rosey is a must-visit when in Orange, NSW
image credits: Pip Farquarson