They call it “a new bar with an old soul” – but wait! In this case it might actually be true. It’s dark, it’s named after a Nick Cave song, it’s moody, the booths are big, you can dance, and there’s something about the vibe that recalls Bar Romantica, or Joe’s Shoe Store, with which it shares some DNA. The cocktails are interesting without being fussy, the wine list is better than it needs to be – and then there’s the big ace up the sleeve. The food is from Louisa Allan and Shuki Rosenboim. For anyone who can’t get enough Very Good Falafel in their lives (like us), the news that you can get these guys’ fresh, flavoursome eats south of the river is a very good thing.
So what are we having? If you’re a Very Good regular, you’ll know that despite the fact that the falafels are (yes) very good, everything Shuki and Louisa do is just as fine. We can vouch for the genuinely excellent hunks of chicken, slathered in haweij, a potent Yemeni spice mixture, skewered with green olives, grilled and served on a finely chopped salad with harissa and tahini for the dippins. The other hit from the hibachi is a lamb-in pita with roasted tomato, tahini and amba – everyone’s favourite fermented mango condiment. This one feels at once like perfect midnight ballast when you’re considering another bottle, but also something you might slide in for on its own.
There’s plenty in the smaller, snackier-things department. If, for example, you were headed to France-Soir (which is four doors up) only to find it full, you could hit Nobody’s Baby for oysters (sold singly and by the half doz) or the raw tuna, rendered here as a carpaccio rather than a tartare, dressed with two tones of grapefruit, shallot and oregano. In a nutshell the menu is all about dry spice balanced by lots of greenery and fresh acidity, whether it’s sardines cured with sumac and served on challah with cucumbers, crème fraîche and dill, or the roasted Brussels sprouts with pilpelchuma, the Libyan-Jewish chilli and garlic paste. Did we mention the chips are cut by hand?
And then you might as well get some falafel anyway because, you know, Very Good.
Sweets? Does anyone want them in a bar? When we’re talking ices from fellow northside ice-cream legends Luther’s Scoops, it’s a big affirmative. Are you going the pomegranate sorbet or the butterscotch ripple? (The answer is yes.)
Drinks? You should have some. We’ve examined the Midnight Rose, which introduces Chartreuse to a Tommy’s Margarita framework (giddy up!) and Everybody’s Martini, which, despite the name, is a fairly specific offering of parmesan-flavoured vodka with a lil shard of Reggiano as a garnish. The wine list is tight – 20-ish bottles all up, the 11 offered by the glass all coming it at under $20 a hit. It’s not a hard push to the conventional or unconventional in style, admirably local in its lean.
Whether you’re a northsider looking for something familiar in South Yarra, or a southsider looking for something completely different on Toorak Road, or just someone who likes the idea of a bar with equally strong plays on music, food and drinks, Nobody’s Baby might well be the baby for you.
Nobody’s Baby, 19-21 Toorak Rd, South Yarra, nobodysbaby.com.au, @nobodysbabybar
By Pat Nourse