No two nights are the same at Young Hearts, a bar and multidisciplinary arts space from Nic Coulter, who co-owns Neptune Food & Wine down the road. The venue evolves constantly, through its dynamic music and arts program, seasonal drinks list, and rotating chef residencies. The bar’s always-on menu includes independent wines, local beers and a short selection of signature cocktails.
But this being a bar first and foremost, the food always complements the drinking. Twice a year, local and interstate chefs take over the kitchen for six-month residencies, showcasing a diverse range of flavours and cuisines. It might be local outfit Freddy’s Pizza, flexing its non-pizza muscles with Italian-influenced snacks like salumi, fried crumbed olives, cacio e pepe croquettes and chicken cotoletta sandos (or crispy eggplant for vegans).
Three large booths and a long banquette are reserved for table service, while the rest of the space operates like a regular bar. There’s a lounge-style mezzanine above the main bar and a DJ booth to the left of it, setting the scene for live music (with an emphasis on jazz and instrumentalists) and DJ sets on certain nights of the week. And downstairs, what used to be Galah’s bottle shop is now a gallery space for emerging artists.
