Caness, a Cosy New Paddington Tapas Bar, Flirts With the Med and the Middle East

Erez Nahum knows how to mine gold from an unlikely source. His first restaurant, Shaffa , is tucked down a narrow Surry Hills alleyway between a 120-year-old church and a 19th-century inn. His new venture, Caness – a Euro Middle Eastern tapas bar, opened with former Shaffa head chef Juan Colmenares – has transformed an old Oxford Street grocery store.

The lino floors, butcher’s counter and shelves have been replaced with terrazzo flooring, moody lighting and cosy booths. It’s exactly as Nahum imagined. “I didn’t sleep at night,” he told Broadsheet. “I just had visions of this bar.”

Caness was brought to life by Squillace Architects, with room for 60 across a clutch of tables on the footpath, two window booths and seats running along the bar and kitchen pass. The team doesn’t want people to feel like they have to commit to a full dinner – they’re taking a laid-back, come-as-you-are approach.

“It’s very bar-y, with dim light, a very cool playlist. We have a lot of tables having drinks and just a couple of nibbles.”

An 80-bottle wine list is approachable, with 20 available by the glass or carafe. There are 10 drinks on the tight cocktail list, including the supremely sippable Golden Hour (with Rhubi, bourbon, Montenegro, amaretto and lemon), and a milk-washed clarified gazpacho serve with a sweet and savoury kick.

Colmenares is front of house this time, with Jeever Domingo (ex- Opera Bar , Whalebridge , The International) leading the kitchen. He’s turning out dishes that bring a Middle Eastern edge to traditional Mediterranean tapas.

“Middle Eastern cuisine is naturally my favourite,” says Nahum, who started his career in Tel Aviv. “We saw many tapas bars [opening] and we wanted to do one ourselves, but we didn’t want to do another tapas bar. There’s no Middle Eastern tapas bar, and it’s kind of boring to do another Mediterranean [one], so we did this flirt between the two, and it came out really cool.”

Bites include oysters with a green-gazpacho-esque mignonette, “sloppy Yosef” sliders with pulled lamb and pickles, and beef tartare crackers. Small plates lean towards seafood with the airy brandade (a whipped cod and potato dip), buttery mussels and seared tuna Andaluz in a rich tomatoey sauce with pops of finger lime.

Ahead of the opening, the prawn saganaki was tipped to be the star. While the rich sauce and tender crustaceans are excellent, the kubaneh is poised to become the hottest dish.

“It’s a Yemenite bread that nobody has ever done in Sydney,” Nahum says. “It’s insanely good. Trust me, you have to try this bread. I grew up on this bread.”

Three intersecting spirals of the fluffy bread arrive to the table, begging to be unravelled like a scroll. It’s served with grated tomato, olive oil and a subtly hot Yemenite green chilli. You do, in fact, have to try this bread.

Caness
348 Oxford Street, Paddington
0406 362 377

Hours:
Tue to Thur 4pm–10pm
Fri midday–3pm, 4pm–10pm
Sat 11am–3pm, 4pm–10pm
Sun midday–3pm, 4pm–8pm

caness.com.au
@caness_sydney