Berkelouw Wine Bar, Leichardht

It’s a lazy Saturday morning that sees me on my way down towards Berkelouw Wine Bar, I’ve been drawn in by the promise of good wine, good food and most importantly, good books. Lunch and books, there’s no better combination for me.

If there’s one thing I love more than eating, it’s reading. Any spare minute I have in the day I’ll usually be found tucked away in a corner with a book. The concept of Berkelouw, a wine bar nestled within a bookstore has me immediately intrigued, Squishies and I who share a mutual fondness for reading have had Berkelouw on our list of places to visit for months, but somehow our Saturday schedules never seem to match up.

Mornings are a little early for wine so we schedule our lunch for 1pm, the time that the Wine bar opens up. In true Asian style everyone is late but it’s only 1.30pm on a Saturday and the Bar is just barely setting up as we walk up to the 2nd floor.

Berkelouw Wine Bar Interior

There’s a sign on the stairs boasting of over 40,000 used books up on the second floor. It’s enough to make my eyes gleam and for 30 minutes I have eyes for nothing else. It’s not unlike walking through a library with stacked shelves of books all sitting in a beautifully high ceiling brightly lit room, I’m pleased to notice that the prices of the novels are also quite reasonable with paperbacks in great condition averaging from $4.50.

Squishies is deeply contemplative and is totally in the zone.

Friend D is signaling to us that our food has arrived, I take one last mournful look at a rare hard cover copy of a Georgette Heyer novel and somewhat painfully manage to pull myself away from the books. Squishies vanished in the forest of books and actually doesn’t emerge for another 5 minutes, all efforts to spot her are futile as she is shorter than the shelves and impossible to find.

Berkelouw Bar

Seating Area

There’s a sheer visual pleasure when you’re sitting down at Berkelouw Bar, the seating area is a scattered mix of couches, wooden table tops, stools vintage wallpapers with everything combining to create a beautiful red and brown colour scheme. There’s a grand piano tucked away in the corner and skylights in the rooftop means that as the afternoon continues our table is slowly bathed in soft sunlight.

Piano Plate - Mini Arancini Balls in Spinach & Ricotta with Prosciutto, Hummous dip, Wild Kalamata Olives & Bread $28

We’re keeping it simple with a shared platter between the three of us. Despite our plans for lunch somehow the three of us have all had a late breakfast and we’re more in the mood for nibbles than anything else. The menu is broken up into a number of shared platters, from cheeses, savory and even a mixed cheese and chocolate platter.

The platter is generously sized and we all gleefully go straight for the Prosciutto, deliciously fatty and salty if sliced a little thicker than I prefer. Crunchy bread with a soft interior is smothered with hummous with the Arancini Balls being just enough to satisfy us.

The Secret Garden

It’s the ornate typography on the spine that catches my eye but my major find of the day is a gorgeous hardcover illustrated copy of one of my favourite novels, ‘The Secret Garden‘. It’s a steal, priced at only $8.50 (despite it’s appearances it was actually printed in 1990 and from the sticker inside shows it’s an ex-library book from Strathfield Library!).

Paper Mache Lighting

As a casual meeting place Berkelouw does perfectly, their menu is designed for sharing with a wine menu as long as the savory menu. In the middle of the day on a weekend it’s a peaceful area much like  eating in a library, and at night they play live music to lure in the punters. They’re open to late every day but Monday, and I know that I’ll be back here with friends, if just to try one of the cheese platters.

Here’s a couple of the books I’ve read and enjoyed lately:

• The Uncommon Reader – a novella featuring an unlikely main character who discovers her love of reading late in life.
• World War Z – I recommend this to everyone who asks, but it’s one of the most unique takes on the zombie apocalypse I’ve ever read.
• The Hunger Games – The latest Young Adult sensation, soon to be made into a trilogy – ignore the hype it really is an interesting series.

Slightly strange selection, now that I look at it… Feel free to recommend a book, I love picking up new authors!

Berkelouw Wine Bar
Level 1 of Berkelouw Books
70 Norton Street
Leichhardt, NSW, 2040
Ph: 0438 644 622
Web: http://www.berkelouwwinebar.com.au/index.php

4 Comments

1. Fiona

   September 17, 2010

   

   Wow. Id love to hjsut site and read,over a bottle of wine. perfect!
   Fiona´s last [type] ..Beetroot Poo

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2. Helen (grabyourfork)

   September 20, 2010

   

   What a lovely spot to spend a lazy weekend. And I love the sneaky photo of Squishies!
   Helen (grabyourfork)´s last [type] ..A Masterclass and Degustation at Tetsuyas

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3. Linda

   September 21, 2010

   

   I am loving the paper mache lighting~!~

   Reply
4. Taylor Lewis

   December 4, 2010

   

   wine bars are great. my father installed a wine bar in my home and my wife also loved it ;:.

   Reply

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