Walking down King Street without a plan can be an awful thing. There are obviously too many restaurants and bars in the two-kilometre stretch for anyone to make a sound decision. What makes it even harder is when the best options aren’t even visible. In this case, Huelo’s auburn-framed storefront seems to spend most of its day obscured by the cone-gripping spillover from its noisy neighbour Mapo. But its charm is in being unassuming. And even once you’re inside you can’t see the half of it.
You’ll likely be greeted by the warm and disarming Swan 'Swanny' Kanongataa – formerly shouldering general manager duties at big-name venues Bistecca and The Rover (‘Swanny’ co-owns Huelo alongside Dre Walters from Old Mate’s Place, and Ginny’s Canoe Club). Patrons can hang out over a cocktail or two in the store, between walls lined with beautiful containers of pasta, tinned fish and other “small goods”, while peering out to the bustling street.
But unbeknownst to the spontaneous visitor, the two-storey spot once home to late-night bar True Romance, opens up into three hidden spaces via a sneaky door at the back of the shop. There’s a tiny 12-seat bar room, a slightly roomier outdoor courtyard, and yet another cocktail lounge upstairs. On a hot summer evening, the plant-studded back garden is the place to be. While the upstairs space with its sofas, mood lighting and pulsing beats is where to take a nightcap until 2am.
But while blood might rush at the prospect of yet more choice, Huelo (meaning “sun rays” in Tongan) is no place for stress. Things are relaxed here.
And for the store, they do things differently. There’s just four on the menu for a start: A Dirty Martini, Negroni, Gimlet and Cappelletti Spritz. The silky silver Gimlet, swirling with gin and sweet lime cordial, is a sugary hit and easy to wash down. The Cappelletti spritz, which sits somewhere between Aperol and Campari on the sweet-to-bitter scale (and doesn’t share notes of its namesake pasta), is a cooling, fruity punch.
There’s more adventure in the backrooms, though, with barkeeps shaking cocktails with names like The Mango Penicillin (ginger syrup, mezcal, whisky and a wedge of fresh mango), The Bullfighter’s Remorse (spicy tequila, apricot and lemon) and Midori Splices (vodka, Midori, kiwi, mango, lime, coconut and a touch of kaffir lime mousse).
Meanwhile, the wine list comprises a compact collection of Italian, French and Australian bottles. Traditionalists beware: on hot days the red wine might come chilled and direct from the fridge. Our pick is the Martin Texier La Preyna, a light fruity red and even better served ice cold. Newtown locals, drink your heart out.
The daily happy hour “oysters and dreams” pairs Wapengo rock oysters with half-price Champagne magnums. But there’s no pomp or pretence. The oysters – two bucks a pop between the hours of 5 and 6pm – come with a slice of lemon, a pot of mignonette, and a small dropper bottle of a yellow-green hot sauce that looks like it's been rustled up at home. It turns out it’s Old Bones’ jalapeno and garlic pepper sauce (which they also sell here by the bottle), packing so much flavour that by the time you’re onto your third oyster the shell will be spilling over with the stuff.
Elsewhere, the snack menu is short and simple, snaffling items from the store’s shelves and plating up out-of-tin sardines and de-jarred pickles. Though not a place for a hearty meal, the quality and portion sizes make up for the narrow options.
The olives come in a plate of around fifty (no, really) – some approaching egg-sized, others barely perceptible to the naked eye – and a double-pronged toothpick with which to attack them. The sourdough is four great hunks of fluffy A.P Bakery bread with a saucer of olive oil speckled with floating salt grains.
On the larger side, as well as Huelo’s ample selection of cheese and charcuterie (including kangaroo and duck salamis), there’s anchovies and manchego on toast, the bread a little burnt but the tiny fish fillets bringing a lovely salty sting. Then there’s the burrata, arriving in its usually knotted blob, strewed with pine nuts and sliced grapes, half-drowning in a slightly overpowering pool of balsamic.
With Inner West treasures like Bella Brutta and Café Paci as neighbours, Huelo has secured a prime spot to swoon the after-dinner crowd. And rather than spreading themselves too thin, the four-in-one venue makes a tardis of its tiny spaces, has heaps of human charm, and finds the sweet spot between refined and unorthodox.
Time Out Sydney never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.