Henry Deane
Henry Deane is the rooftop crown of Hotel Palisade, the 1915 pub at 35 Bettington Street, Millers Point, built for port workers and once the tallest building in Sydney. Almost 15 years ago when I worked at Yahoo, it was our pub of choice. When I first wrote about it in 2016, the old drinking den for Anzacs and wharfies had just come back to life after years sitting derelict, and the result was 360 degrees of drop dead gorgeousness across two floors.
A decade on, it still owns the top two levels of the building. The hotel has since been refreshed by local design studio The Society Inc., with Public House downstairs and a handful of boutique guest rooms above it, but the point of Henry Deane has not changed. It is a cocktail lounge with some of the best views in Sydney, and these days it has a kitchen that deserves just as much attention as the harbour.
The Arrival
I went on a Friday, arriving at sunset. I walked in frazzled, phone in hand, with a work call I could not move and no time to re organise my diary. It is not the entrance anyone dreams of making at one of Sydney’s most glamorous venues, as a bit frazzled I asked if there was anywhere quiet I could take the call, when the top floor had music pumping and a very merry crowd at 5pm! I braced for the polite look and a sorry we can’t help, but the welcome from Ary their front of house was warm as the sparkling views of the harbour.
The Set Up
With no notice and no fuss, I was moved into one of the private rooms so I could take my call in peace. Ary turned the music off. A beer appeared in my hand. By the time the call was done, my shoulders had come down from around my ears. Now that’s service.
I have sat through a lot of hospitality over the years and I know how rare it is to be looked after before you have asked. Going from stress to service in a matter of minutes is not something a menu can buy you. It comes from a team that is paying attention, and her service here was one of the highlights as we talked all things Brazillian – the love of their Japanese food, dancing and her delight at working at Henry Deane.
I am seated as the sun is going down, with the harbour busy below and the sky doing its best work moving to an orange glow and then its gone. The outdoor balcony was far too windy to sit out on that evening, so we stay inside and enjoy the scene.
The Menu
The menu has been reworked and now goes by the name Food Between A Few, which tells me how the kitchen wants us to eat. My friend Penny has arrived, looking glamorous as usual. Everything is built for sharing, from Picks & Dips (spiced nuts at $8, warm picaccia with yummy butter at $6, a chef’s cheesy pick at $23) through Smalls, Mains, Sides and two desserts. There is also an $80 per person set menu if you would rather hand over the decisions, and a 10% service charge applies.
The menu is generous with its labelling too. Dishes are marked for gluten, for nuts and seeds, and for anything vegan or able to be made vegan, which makes ordering for a mixed table far easier than normal. Mains run from $36 for the seared prawn tails to $54 for the 12 hour Margra lamb shoulder, with sides between $16 and $22.
And thank goodness, the potato hash is still there. Four pieces with abalone sauce and smoked pork dust for $22, which is the dish I would have rioted over if it had gone in the shake-up. It’s their signature and I laugh with one of the servers that chefs would leave, before this dish does! Regulars will never let it go. It’s the dish of the night
The Meal
We start with the Kabuli chickpea and pumpkin hummus with peanut salsa macha ($16), warm picaccia ($6) and the raw tuna ($28). Without planning it, I realised the starters shared a theme, because the hummus, the tuna and the fish to come all had a tomato or capsicum base running through them. We rip up the bread, dunk it in the sun dried tomato based butter and scoop up smooth umami laden hummus. The tuna, diced into ruby cubes and tossed through a roasted tomato ezme with pomegranate, pooling in a slick of bright orange chilli oil on the plate is one of the only dishes that didn’t work. The ezme is a Turkish recipe made with tomatoes, spicy green peppers, and red pepper paste and the dressing is too heavy and overpowering for the tuna to truly be the hero.
Penny starts with a ‘Fizzy Wine’ cocktail of tanqueray blackcurrant royale gin, chardonnay, citrus. It’s beautifully balances and arrives with two delicate black olives.
The fish of the day is a hapuka ($44), it is served skin up with a blistered, almost smoky crust over a velvety capsicum sauce, then topped with a walnut aigre-douce and finished with a flourish of fresh herbs. Beside it came the charred marinated spatchcock ($50), presented in four glossy pieces with tomatillo hot sauce and a golden jus pooling underneath, dill fronds scattered on top. Both arrived in wide ceramic bowls with their own serving tongs, which is a small thing that makes sharing feel like theatre.
The charred zucchini ($22) came with a bright green puree and a scatter of pepitas, and the triple cooked chats ($16) were heaped with a preserved lemon persillade of fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced garlic, and lemon bound with olive oil. But it was the roasted carrots ($21), with goats curd, pine nut and maple, that we loved most.
The Verdict
Henry Deane has always been a beautiful place to be seen. It is also a beautiful place to eat, and a beautiful place to be looked after.
What Are We Addicted To?
These are views which make Sydney iconic. It’s somewhere special to stay, sip and eat. The service, first and foremost from Ary turned a stressful Friday into one of the best nights out I have had in a while. The cocktails are refined and the winner of the night is the Potato hash with abalone sauce, smoked pork dust. Cripsy, soft and so addictive.
What Do We Need To Be More Addicted?
Food Between A Few is built for a crowd, and with two of us enjoyed the menu, but a few more substantials could balance it out. The the bill climbs quickly once you start ordering for the table. The $80 per person set menu looks like the smart way to take it all in next time.
Henry Deane, Hotel Palisade, 35 Bettington Street, Millers Point. Mains from $36, $80 per person set menu available.