Bar Cooper’s opens in Coorparoo
They dusted off the 35-year-old wood-fired oven to cook up oysters, wagyu cheeseburgers and garlic butter pipi with the help of European wines and signature cocktails.
The first place is just for you. From now on, everything is for those of you who eat.
“One of our wine reps told us this over a few drinks one night,” says Leaham Claydon. “The first one is, you just have to open the place. You have to do something you want to do. The next one, you have to do something people want, not what you want.”
So if Snug’s opening in March 2024 is for Claydon and his partner and co-owner Jianne Jeoung, neighboring Jane’s Deli and Bar Cooper’s is for Coorparoo locals who have been embracing young chefs for the past 24 months.
The idea for Bar Cooper’s came first, but before that, Jane’s Deli opened in December.
With an efficiently designed L-shaped dining room arranged next to a low chef’s counter and a 35-year-old wood-fired oven (which remained unused for a decade and was left over from previous tenant California Native), Claydon and Jeoung say they’re not trying to overstep any boundaries with Bar Cooper, just aiming to become a local favorite.
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“It doesn’t have to be the best. We just want people to love coming here,” Claydon says. “Like Julius [in Fish Lane] for us. Julius is our favorite. The food isn’t meant to be groundbreaking, but it’s the best way to fill yourself up after a long weekend. We love going there every Sunday afternoon or evening.
“There’s something to be said about a super consistent restaurant because that’s the hardest thing to do.”
With consistency and convenience in mind, Claydon and Jeoung kept Bar Cooper’s initial menu relatively simple.
“We tried not to use unknown ingredients that we needed to explain,” says Jeoung. “We wanted a simple starting point, then we could dig a little deeper.”
However, the duo did not let this accessibility get in the way of some good developments. The wood-fired oven cooks “five or six” dishes, including a dry-aged Wagyu cheeseburger served with fries, while “many of the others have a touch of the grill.”
Designed to engage locals on their own terms, the menu is divided into snacks, then smaller and larger plates.
If you’re spending some time in the idyllic courtyard, there’s wood-fired rock oysters, chicken veloute and tarragon; flatbread served with green garlic butter and parmesan; and a variety of dried meats are offered daily.
The interior is more about conscious diners opting for plates such as seasonal raw fish, shallots, artichokes, lemon and olive oil; garlic butter pipis with kombucha and fermented peppers; cold boiled king prawns served with tomato caper mayonnaise and curry leaves; chicken schnitzel with brown butter, anchovies and fried egg; Wood-roasted market fish with jalapeno, cilantro and jus.
“It reminded me a little bit of a bar,” Claydon says. “There are different zones and different areas for different people, so they can cater to all kinds of situations. It really suits the area to have a place like this where people come for different reasons.”
For drinks, manager Sam Pritchard and Jeoung have compiled a wine list that leans more towards Europe than Snug’s Australia-focused list, while Pritchard drew on his experience working the bar at Caretaker’s Cottage, Romeo Lane and Death & Taxes to develop a cocktail list that includes eight signatures.
The restaurant itself has simple equipment; The choice of wood and cool greenery means it sings from the same design sheet as Snug on one side and Jane’s Deli on the other, giving the three venues the feel of their own miniature enclave.
Open Wednesday-Saturday 17:00-22:00, Sunday 12:00-15:00.
321 Chatsworth Road, Coorparoo.
Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at the Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-in-chief at Broadsheet Brisbane and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among others.
