Helm Bar *UPDATED*
Image: Fact: being a food reviewer opens you up to new experiences, ones you’d never get to on your own. Subtext: this is how a person like me ends up in a sports bar, albeit one with a rather classy view.
Fact: being a food reviewer opens you up to new experiences, ones you’d never get to on your own. Subtext: this is how a person like me ends up in a sports bar, albeit one with a rather classy view. Add to this I’ve never barracked for anyone, except on that once-a-year Aussie aberration we call the Melbourne Cup. So take my opinion here with a pinch of salt, because drinking amidst cries of ‘carn doggies’ is actually pretty rare. I threw down the soothing cucumber Ginny Hendricks ($18), with an Oriental Sweet Tart ($17) fast on its tail. Questionable name aside, it’s my sort of drink. It advances from the cloying (and ubiquitous) lychee martini domination, by tarting them up with lemon juice, orgeat syrup and Plymouth Gin. The newly arrived pizzas strike me as quite homey – but regional Italian specialists like Woolloomooloo’s Puntino Trattoria and Leichhardt’s Aperitivo usually provide my pizza fare. Toppings here are more exotic, like Peking Duck ($19.50), accentuated by oyster mushrooms, shallots, hoi sin sauce, chilli oil and a moist garnish of cucumber. I balance it against a Rocket and Parmesan Salad ($8) dressed with a simple yet effective balsamic vinaigrette. Seven-buck cocktails every Tuesday could make a sports fan of me yet.
Helm Bar
Aquarium Wharf, 7 Wheat Road, Darling Harbour
Ph: (02) 9290 1571 www.helmbar.com.au
Modern Australian/Pizza $$
