FEATURE: BARTEGA BAR

Raising the bar at Bartega

It’s sexy, sophisticated and wouldn’t look out of place in any European capital. Welcome to Canterbury League Club’s highly-anticipated Bartega bar. Grant Jones investigates.

BEFORE TAKING ON his latest role as Bartega bar manager at Canterbury League Club, Tony Rudolph frankly admits that he had not stepped foot in a club since his early 20s – he thinks it was Wenty Leagues in the early 90s. Since then he has headed up globally-acclaimed bars in venues such as Peter Gilmore’s Bennelong at the Sydney Opera House and most recently, Woodcut at Crown Sydney.

“It’s a very different ballgame now,” he says of clubs. “When I came on board I wasn’t expecting it to be as beautiful a space as it’s turned out to be. I’m really happy with it.”

The launch of Bartega comes at a time when creating standalone F&B spaces in suburban clubs are on the march. So how Rudolph ended up at Bartega deserves some telling.

With twin girls born during Covid and his home just 15 minutes away from the club, going local offered a whole new attraction for Rudolph.

“It’s nice to know that there is a movement towards pushing out into the outer suburbs with nice venues with beautiful spaces,” he says. “I would like to think we are one of the newer kids on the block and we’re representing the possibilities that the suburbs hold.”

But colleagues at Woodcut were still shocked at the move, not knowing what he was walking into.

“Sometimes I feel that when I walk around the club here it has a luxury resort feel,” he says. “I’m really impressed by what is happening in clubs these days.”

Designed by award-winning architect Altis Architecture, Bartega seats 60, and blends the glamour and sophistication of high-end luxury more familiar to the CBD than Sydney’s southwest.

“I’m used to a high-pressure, high-level service but yep, bringing it to a new environment like the club, it creates a few challenges.

“I know there are expectations that we have of the staff to live up to which they may not be used to but we have a fairly robust training program in place.”

The spectacular marble bar, complete with gleaming brass finishes and alfresco balcony overlooking lush gardens and waterfall, just in time for spring, has been warmly received.

“We already have our first regulars, so that says a lot to me,” Rudolph says. “We are seeing familiar faces every week, sometimes twice a week.

“People are saying that it’s nice to see something like this in the neighbourhood.”

While bespoke concoctions include drinks such as Jin Cha, a blend of Roku Gin, matcha, chartreuse, yuzu, and honey, served in a traditional matcha bowl, he is still educating new guests by offering mini versions – and bringing in guest distillers. Beyond drinks, Bartega’s menu features small dishes such as sesame-coated yellowfin tuna, oven-baked brie and pork belly bao buns.

Rudolph says Canterbury League Club has raised the bar with Bartega, which will have a flow-on effect as cashed-up locals are looking for a sophisticated vibe.

“If the demand is there that’s definitely what happens,” he says “We are the vanguard of the new wave in the southwest.”