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Wild Bunch Food & Wine: Menu Preview and Pre-Opening Night Drinks

Update: Review of Wild Bunch Food & Wine 2012

It is the night before the opening, and friends, family and guests of the Wild Bunch Seaforth are gathered inside the newly-refurbished premises to toast the launch of this unique café and wine bar concept on the Northern Beaches.

You’ll easily find Wild Bunch Food & Wine in Seaforth. Its prime location with three sided frontage along Sydney Road just before the roundabout makes is an ideal spot to stop for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Or even for a drink.

Wild Bunch Food & Wine Seaforth
Wild Bunch Food & Wine

Wild Bunch Food & Wine is the joint venture between Chris Cranswick-Smith of Emmilou Tapas Bar, Dinesh Wicks, Al Matthews, Cadell Bradnock and Marc Lawler, recently featured in the interview with the Wild Bunch.

Wild Bunch Food & Wine Seaforth
Chris with guests in front of the bar area

Restaurant Manager, Simon Drysdale, is no stranger to the locale, having worked in the same spot for the previous café owner for nearly four and half years. He is joined by Assistant Manager, Jacquie Wootton, and together, they are a formidable team.

Wild Bunch Food & Wine Seaforth
Jacquie (Assistant Manager) and Simon (Restaurant Manager)

The menu offers an eclectic and exciting range of options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Chef Chris Cranswick-Smith’s influences are evident throughout, drawing on his extensive European experiences in Spain, France and the Mediterranean.

Wild Bunch Food & Wine Seaforth

For breakfast, you can choose from Nibbles such as Spanish toast with tomato and Jamón Serrano or a mezze breakfast for two that takes the taste buds to the Mediterranean. There’s Something Light that includes a Wild Bunch Fruit Salad, and the Eggs n Stuff section with a Breakfast Burrito with scrambled eggs, chorizo, humous and harissa. You could even go Big Bang with a Breakfast Quesadilla with a sweet green chilli salsa or opt for Something Naughty served with organic agave syrup.

Coffee includes all the favourites and a specialty section with an intriguing coffee called The South American, a double shot of espresso over sweetened condensed milk. Breakfast/brunch cocktails are served from 10 am with a takeaway breakfast menu also available from 7 am.

Wild Bunch Food & Wine Seaforth
The team at Wild Bunch Food & Wine

For a quick meal, burgers are served from 12-7pm and you can choose from Cajun Chicken, Beef Burgers, and a vegetarian option with grilled haloumi. There’s even a bunless burger option for those concerned about their carb intake.

Doggy Diners are also catered for. Yes, I’m talking about the pooch kind, with four options ranging from the aptly-named A Dog’s Breakfast to The Pampered Pooch.

Wild Bunch Food & Wine Seaforth
The Wild Bunch (L to R): Marc Lawler, Dinesh Wicks, Chris Cranswick-Smith, Cadell Bradnock, Al Matthews

Regulars to Emmilou Tapas Bar in Surry Hills will identify popular dishes on the Lunch and Dinner menu. There are Share Plates that include Emmilou favourites, like the Stuffed Zucchini Flowers and the 16 hour pork belly from the Mains section. Temptation are called Sweet Things, with a dessert served with a Tequila jelly – simply to die for.

And in keeping with the origin of the name, a wild bunch of herbs can be cut at your table to add more freshness to the dishes.

Allow yourself sufficient time to study the Drinks menu. After all, Wild Bunch Food & Wine is a spot where you can also drop in for a drink. Wines have a local focus from areas in NSW such as Mudgee and the Riverina and spread throughout to New Zealand, France, Spain and South America.

The spirit list impresses with a cross section of white and dark spirits and a 1942 Don Julio tequila. Pineau des Charentes, not often seen on menus in Sydney, is a welcome addition as is the range of Calvados and aged Armagnacs to round off a good meal.

Wild Bunch Food & Wine Seaforth

Wild Bunch Food & Wine opens for trade on 22 December 2011.

Gourmantic will return in the New Year with a review of Wild Bunch Food & Wine.

For more photographs of the event, “Like” our Facebook Page.

Wild Bunch Food & Wine
565 Sydney Rd, Seaforth
Monday to Saturday – 7am to 11pm
Sunday – 7am to 10pm
www.wildbunchfoodandwine.com.au

Photography © by Kevin Burke for Gourmantic – Copyright: All rights reserved.

About the author

Corinne Mossati

Corinne Mossati is a drinks writer, author of GROW YOUR OWN COCKTAIL GARDEN, SHRUBS & BOTANICAL SODAS and founder/editor of Gourmantic, Cocktails & Bars and The Gourmantic Garden. She has been writing extensively about spirits, cocktails, bars and cocktail gardening in more recent years. She is a spirits and cocktail competition judge, Icons of Whisky Australia nominee, contributor to Diageo Bar Academy, cocktail developer and is named in Australian Bartender Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential List. Her cocktail garden was featured on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia and has won several awards. She is a contributor to Real World Gardener radio program and is featured in several publications including Pip Magazine, Organic Gardener, Australian Bartender and Breathe (UK). Read the full bio here.

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