The red on white lightbox sign simply says wine bar. Underneath it, on an unassuming blackboard, an arrow and the name of the bar are scrawled in white chalk. Like most hidden bars, this one taps into the delightful feeling of being in the know and reveling in a secret.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Bar Rochford may not be much of a secret anymore, but it still continues to delight. Its retro vibes, vintage tunes and impressive drinks list make it a sought-after hangout destination, day or night.
With a reduced capacity of 45 in COVID-19 times, it's even harder to get a seat than usual. Bar Rochford is only taking dinner bookings and they're either from 6pm or 8pm. We've opted for the later seating in order to have little more time to linger over a bottle of wine, but it seems that the table before us have had the same thought. We're told to come back in 10 minutes so they can sanitise the tables. Waiting outside, we notice for the first time that that the door handle says pull when you have to push - perhaps a bar owner's inside joke on sobriety before entering.
It's nice to be in Bar Rochford when it's less crowded than usual. The wooden bar, art deco light shades and arched windows in the Melbourne building make for beautiful interiors. We're seated in a cozy little booth, which is great, but would likely be a challenge for groups larger than four.
Normally offering snacks and share plates, booking in requires that you opt into the $70 set menu. There are no food choices to be made tonight, so we turn our attention to the extensive drinks list. There's a good selection here, though I can't help but wonder if markups on wine have significantly increased in times of reduced seatings. One of the wines is marked "oxidised" which I've always thought was a fault in wine that had somehow become cool, but the waiter points out that it's meant to read "oxidated" and refer to intentional oxygen interaction.
We start with a lighter red from the Adelaide Hills, an Ochota Barrels Mark of Cain pinot meunier ($90 a bottle). It is small batch, minimal intervention and dainty though somewhat uninteresting. The Cuvee des Copains Grenache syrah ($14 a glass) has a little more to it, and its acidity and tannins are a good match for the meat course.
A trio of snacks kicks us off - smoked beef tongue and anchovy mayo, panisse with brandade and relish, and a delightful little dauphines with Comte custard. The latter is the highlight, crispy on the outside and fluffy inside set off with a welcome salty savouriness from the Comte custard.
The beef carpaccio with tuna and smoked tomato is excellent. It's deceptively simple - thin slices of bright red beef on a bed of smoked tomato puree and finished with a bright orange tuna dressing. Textural and full of umami from the smoked tomato, it's salty, moreish, and a brilliant combination of flavours.
Burrata is almost always a winner, and it doesn't disappoint here. Teamed up with seasonal blood orange, a pistachio herb puree and whole pistachios, this one is bright and a welcome introduction to the warmer spring weather.
The main is beef with bagna cauda and daikon. The beef, although already sliced is surprisingly tough, and the anchovies in the bagna cauda dominate. There's a lot going on and it strikes me as a little off balance, the beef, bagna cauda and the sharpness of the pickled daikon all competing. It's also a little repetitive - the third dish tonight which features beef finished with a fish dressing.
While the beef is unremarkable, the sides of pumpkin, mole and almond praline, and salad of cos, radicchio and soy make for an interesting contrast. The sweet savouriness of the pumpkin is welcome foil to the sharpness of the beef, and the soy dressing accentuates the bright bitterness of the cos and radicchio.
The creme caramel is a rather uninspired ending after the creativity in previous courses. It's a bit of a "set and forget" attitude to dessert, though even more puzzling is that it is a shared dessert (we don't get share plates) which doesn't reflect the rigorous approach taken to COVID safety when we arrived. I love crème caramel but this one is a touch grainy and overly eggy.
Service is competent but lacks the charm I've come to know Rochford for. It's a busy night, but several times we're left without water and aren't offered more drinks. The food is paced in ebbs and flows too - coming out quickly at the start and slowing down towards the end.
The food is creative in parts, simple in others; if anything, the only criticism is that the set menu is a little repetitive tonight. It's a little loud and a little cramped in our booth, but Bar Rochford is a bar after all - it's even in the name. And as bars go, Bar Rochford is pretty great. There's great music, a well-curated wine list and the place just has good vibes.
Bar Rochford
Address: 65 London Circuit, Canberra
Phone: 6230 6222
Owner: Nick Smith
Chefs: Josh Lundy and Belinda Bennett
Hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 5pm til late; Sunday 1pm til late
Noise: Great music selection but difficult to have a conversation
Vegetarian: A few good options
