Simon Rogan’s The Baker & The Bottleman has seen lines coming out of its bakery doors since opening at the gourmet and lifestyle oasis of Wan Chai’s Lee Tung Avenue and will soon be enticing even more patrons with the opening of its upper floor dine-in section and wine bar at the end of the month.
Simon Rogan seems to have found the elusive secret to combining food and business. With his Hong Kong bakery now a roaring success, the food maestro has announced that the upper floor space at The Baker & The Bottleman will officially open from Monday to Sunday from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm from 27th April onwards. Here, patrons will be able to enjoy daytime dine-in from The Baker’s menu, and on Wednesday to Saturday from 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm, they can partake in The Bottleman’s wine bar experience.
Come for the sweets, stay for the vines
The Baker & The Bottleman introduces the city’s first modern bakehouse with sustainability at its heart — a quintessential taste of British bakes with Simon Rogan’s unique twist. As part of its sustainable approach, The Baker & The Bottleman only accepts cashless transactions, with all dine-in orders made and paid for by scanning a QR code in lieu of a traditional paper menu.
Guests who wish to purchase a bottle of wine can do so at the ground floor retail section of The Baker & The Bottleman, which stocks a unique curation of wines by natural, bio-dynamic and organic winegrowers worldwide.
What’s there to do in the evenings?
In the evening, from 5:30 pm onwards, The Baker & The Bottleman’s upper space will transform into a relaxed and casual wine bar serving natural wines alongside snacks, cold cuts and cheese. The perfect place to wind down with a glass after a long day at work, The Baker & The Bottleman offers the ideal setting to enjoy happy hour with friends, colleagues, and family. Guests will be able to enjoy a casual space in the heart of Wan Chai to sit, relax and enjoy pastries fresh out of the oven alongside refreshing beverages.
There are six types of small plates on offer during the evening. They include Anchovy on Toast (above), Flat Bread with roasted cashew and chickpea cream, sorrel emulsion, Scotch Egg with pickled walnut sauce, and selections of cured meat and fish such as Cured Meat Platter with Truffled Ham, Chorizo, Serrano Ham and Beetroot and Orange Cured Salmon. All come with a complimentary bread basket, pickles, olive oil and vinegar.
The natural wine list has been hand-picked by the Roganic team and overseen by Master Sommelier Pierre Brunelli. The team wants to introduce a unique portfolio of natural, organic and biodynamic winegrowers to Hong Kong. As with the food, The Baker & The Bottleman chooses to only work with winemakers with whom strong friendships and trust have been forged over the years.
The wine list features winemakers that fit a certain set of criteria set out by the Simon Rogan team, including advocating a farming culture that doesn’t harm the planet, supports biodiversity, and empowers local communities.
Prices start from HK$200 per bottle, and there is a diverse range of vintages from around the world, including unique labels from Loire Valley in France to Marchigue Valley in Chile. The hand-picked selection is sure to surprise and intrigue wine lovers.
Alongside the wine is an Artisan Cheese Platter comprising 30g each of Isle of Mull cheddar, Stichelton blue cheese, Sainte-Maure de Touraine and Saint-Nectare alongside crackers and chutney. Finish with something sweet, such as the Soft-serve Ice Cream with either vanilla ice cream, a shot of espresso, coffee molasses, shaved dark chocolate or earl grey ice cream with berry compote and granola or The Apple Turnover with Vanilla Ice-Cream.
New sweet and savoury highlights from the menu are available to take away directly from the store or can be enjoyed in the newly opened upstairs space at The Bottleman. New items on the menu include Chocolate Brownie, Apple & Pear Turnover, three types of doughnuts with Lemon Curd, Strawberry and Chocolate fillings, and three types of sandwiches, including Italian Cold-Cut Sandwich, Egg Mayonnaise Sandwich and the classic Ham & Cheese Toastie and a classic British Sausage Roll.
Other signature and popular items on the menu include Irish Soda Bread Loaf, a classic Irish soda bread made with rye and wholemeal flour topped with golden syrup and oats, and Sourdough Loaf that uses all-natural, GMO-free, unbleached and ethically sourced flours from Alchermuhle, one of the oldest family mills in Germany.
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