What is new? It’s a question we ask all the time. So much emphasis is put on newness in bars, in bartending, in cocktail competitions — and in the media that writes about it (yep, guilty). What is tried and true is often neglected, whether it’s a bar that’s been around for years, or cocktails with unimpeachable — and unimprovable — formulations.
I was thinking about this after visiting Lost Luau on Friday afternoon for its first service.
First things first: Lost Luau is a new popup that isn’t that new at all, not really. It first debuted at the end of 2017, on York Street in the Sydney CBD in the space that would become Sammy Jr (which itself would become a sandwich shop, sadly). It was a short term popup project from Tom Bulmer and the owners of Burrow Bar, Chau Tran and Bryce McDonough, and it showcased Bulmer’s passion for rum and tiki drinks, two elements of the bar world for which Tom has long been an advocate.
Cut to today: we shared the news back in February that Burrow Bar would close its doors after celebrating its 10th birthday on March 1 this year. And while Chau and Bryce are developing the concept for what takes Burrow Bar’s place, they’ve brought Bulmer in to bring back Lost Luau for a limited two to three month run.
Opening Tuesday through Sunday from 4pm to midnight, Lost Luau is back with an 11-strong cocktail list comprised of tiki classics, a food menu that combines Burrow Bar favourites (like their Kickin‘ Wings) with Lost Luau dishes, and loads of rum.
Bulmer has been workshopping his recipes for these classic tiki drinks for much of his career, and you get a sense of them being as complete — and satisfying — as a drink can be. I enjoyed the Pago Pago (demerara white rum, creme de cacao, green Chartreuse, pineapple, lime — $20) and their Mai Tai (Jamaican rum, curaçao, almond blossom, lime — $23) almost as much as I appreciate their 2017-era pricing (though you’ll want to get in quick to take advantage of that, as I suspect prices might go up).
And if you can’t smile and be happy when drinking their Piña Colada from a fresh cut pineapple — made with a blend of white rums, pineapple, and Coco Lopez ($24, with an optional $4 to have it served in a pineapple) — then I don’t want to know you, because you will never be happy.
I can recommend, too, the kahuna burger ($22): it is comprised of thick cut ham steak, pickled pineapple, high-melt American cheese and coconut aioli, and is precisely the kind of carbified calorific re-balancer you might need after a couple of Zombies ($26).
It is all very comforting, delicious stuff.
Below, lightly edited and condensed for clarity, I ask Bulmer about the Lost Luau offering, the pricing, and I get his take on where the Sydney bar scene is at right now (and why there’s reason for bar operators to be hopeful).
In this newsletter briefing:
- a first look at the new (old) drinks on Lost Luau’s first menu;
- why Tom Bulmer thinks bar operators and owners might not be looking at the right market;
- the calorific goodness of the kahuna burger;
- The Waratah is looking for a bar manager, and bartenders are wanted for a new underground Daiquiri joint opening soon.
BOOTHBY: Tom, for people who didn’t catch Lost Luau the first time, what is it about?
TOM BULMER: Happiness. A place you’d rather be. Look, [the first Lost Luau] was escapism at its finest, and realistically at the time that we first did it, drinks were being taken so seriously. People were taking themselves very seriously.