There’s a certain camaraderie that comes from getting to a bar and knowing that you’re all there for exactly the same thing. No, I’m not talking about sex (though this activity might be a prelude). What I am discussing is the six o’clock oyster swill, where on Wednesday nights between cowbells (6pm-7pm) you can sink a bounty of bivalves that’ll set you back a buck apiece. Despite shucking their fingers to the bone, the kitchen keeps up with demand and makes a seamless transition into dinner. Loath to leave the lively bar I order an icy tray of Crab and Lettuce Tacos ($18/6) against a happy hour Punch-Draught Cocktail ($10) pumped up from The Morrison’s cellar. With Beefeater Gin, camomile and pink grapefruit, it’ll carry them nicely into summer; and doesn’t fight with an equally pretty Scallop Ceviche ($22). Personable Bar Supervisor Barbara Ivers tells me the kitchen also has its finger in the cocktail list: “Chef Nathan combines three bottles of Jack and nine bananas” plus house-smoked maple syrup into a Banana Old Fashioned ($17). It’s a clever update of the classic, and goes down a treat with a stack of Fish Fingers ($16). Of course they’re not just ordinary fish fingers, they’re Western Australian sardines encrusted with crunchy quinoa…
The Morrison Bar & Oyster Room
225 George Street, Sydney
Ph: (02) 9247 6744 themorrison.com.au
Bar, Bar Food, Cocktails $$-$$$
