‘Nothing over $30’: Kings Cross drinks guru defies tough times to open surprising new bar

Champagne, oysters and a baby grand piano don’t sound like the obvious ingredients for a venue launch during one of the bumpiest seasons for hospitality on record, but David Spanton believes The Hook, which opened on Thursday, May 23, is just the tonic in an undeniably tough market.

Spanton has distilled decades of experience to give the new oyster-and-cocktail saloon on Bayswater Road in Kings Cross every chance to sing. All of The Hook’s staff have been trained to multitask, and that includes oyster shucking. If the piano player doesn’t show for a shift, you might find Spanton on the keys. “I only know three songs,” he says.

“The key for me is being careful with wages and kitchen costs. Keep the food simple and delicious, with nothing over $30. The food has to pay its own way. I’ve learnt from our other venues to cut out anything with a short shelf life, so we don’t have any salads on the menu, and you use potato buns, which have a longer shelf life and taste delicious,” Spanton says.

“Oysters are expensive, no doubt, but by buying in bulk and [specialising] in one fresh oyster each week, we can still offer value.”

As the Sydney hospitality closures mount, a shift is taking place as savvy operators realign their product. Londres 126, an upmarket Mexican restaurant at Circular Quay, has relaunched as Cancun Boat Club, with a Tex-Mex menu and items such as Doritos smothered in hot sauce. Bar Mammoni, on Loftus Lane, has reinvented itself as a pasta bar and deli.

Spanton says he and his wife and business partner, Amy, are typical of the many in the industry putting everything on the line to open hospitality venues. In 2021, they saved Piccolo Bar, the then 69-year-old Kings Cross institution, with a reboot that transformed it into an aperitivo bar. Last year Vermuteria – an old-school European aperitif wine bar with a big focus on vermouth and sherry – joined the party, opening in the former home of Cafe Hernandez on Kings Cross Road.

At 250 square metres, The Hook is their biggest venue yet. There are four types of grilled oysters, which Spanton says are a throwback to “when things like Mornay and Rockefeller were all the rage”. If seafood isn’t your thing, The Hook has burgers and an “LP’s dive dog”.

“We haven’t had an oyster bar on Bayswater Road in 15 years,” says Spanton, who remains bullish about the wider hospitality industry: “Things have slowed down, but the cream will rise from the carnage.”

Initial opening hours: Fri May 24 and Sat May 25 5pm-midnight

Regular hours (from May 29): Wed-Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-10pm

13-15 Bayswater Road, Kings Cross, thehooksydney.com.au