First Look: The Leichhardt Bowlo Gets the Bistro It Deserves

A special lunch in Sydney doesn’t typically feature barefoot bowls, kids tearing around the playground and neighbours stopping by to say hello. But the Leichhardt bowlo combines all that with some serious kitchen talent. Twenty years after first meeting on the line at Rockpool, chefs Graeme Hunt, Nic Wong of Marrickville’s Lucky Prawn pub diner and Joel Humphreys of Newcastle destination Bistro Penny have reunited to open Blue Ribbon Bistro, applying decades of fine-dining experience to pub classics.

Hunt leads the kitchen and, for him, it’s a homecoming. The Haberfield local has spent more than a decade in the area and knows the bowlo as well as the streets around it. Since opening, weekend service has meant greeting his sons’ teammates around the club, while supply runs to Paesanella Cheese often turn into conversations about the new bistro. “Locals want a dining spot that’s approachable and serves tasty food that hits the spot,” Hunt says. “With a young family myself, eating out at clubs and pubs is our go-to, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be a great food experience.”

Before Blue Ribbon Bistro, Hunt led teams at Felons Manly, Spice Temple Melbourne and Chin Chin Sydney. That experience shows up less in elaborate plating – the mission here is still straightforward pub food – than in the kitchen’s precision. Hunt even redesigned the kitchen to prioritise speed during busy weekend services. “Nothing worse than your kids nagging when the beer gardens are packed,” he laughs.

Blue Ribbon Bistro is built as much on nostalgia as it is technique. Growing up around Pennant Hills, Hunt and Wong both celebrated special occasions at Black Stump, the once-iconic family steakhouse where bacon-wrapped prawn skewers felt impossibly fancy. Those memories became the chefs’ creative brief – revisiting the dishes they grew up with and trying to capture the feeling that made them so special.

The burger with the lot remains old-school, right down to the beetroot; fish and calamari are battered in-house; and no one leaves wanting for sauce. Hunt relies heavily on local suppliers. Great Meats supplies the rump and sirloin steaks, as well as the beef burger patties, which he doesn’t smash wafer-thin. Instead, they’re pressed firmly onto the grill for a deep, smoky crust and juicy middle, before being tucked inside Bos Bread buns.

“I hate getting a sad limp salad on the side,” Hunt says. That’s why the side salad mixes radicchio, cos and watercress – a leaf blend that holds up under the heat lamps. Gravy boats are filled with a glistening liquid enriched with veal stock, while a sizeable Heinz condiment station invites diners to help themselves.

But “best in show”, Hunt says, is the fish’n’chips. A hefty fillet is coated in a rice flour batter, made with the bowlo’s Polisher lager, that shatters into a crisp, lacy shell, revealing tender hake beneath. It’s served with a generous boat of tartare featuring dill, parsley, Dijon mustard and finely chopped gherkins, perfect for dipping.

The dessert menu is equally memory-driven. There’s banoffee pudding and a sticky date, and Blue Ribbon ice-cream topped with Ice Magic and sprinkles – a cosy crowd-pleaser that neatly sums up the bistro’s approach.

Blue Ribbon Bistro

88–92 Piper Street, Lilyfield

Hours:

Wed to Fri midday–3pm, 5pm–late

Sat & Sun 11am–late

leichhardtbowlingclub.com.au/blue-ribbon

@blueribbonbistro