Images via Moo Bar
Everyone loves a moody wine bar you can only find if you know it’s there and once you do it’s a secret too good to keep to yourself.
While some may recognise the name Moo Bar, the North Terrace venue now looks very different. After being closed for months, the team behind Moorooroo Park Vineyards has relaunched its city wine bar and reinvented the space, food offering and overall atmosphere.
Moorooroo Park Vineyards is a family-owned boutique winery in the Krondorf region of the Barossa, and the team is bringing its wines into the city.
The Moo Bar is set inside a 1870’s stone home on the edges of Adelaide’s CBD, featuring three private tasting rooms, two alfresco courtyards and a wine museum room.
The name has nothing to do with cows. In fact, it’s a creative nod to its origin, Moorooroo Park Vineyards in the Barossa.
Moo Bar manager William Kain and owner, chef and winemaker Wyndham House are behind the relaunch, and it’s nothing like what came before.
Wyndham was originally a chef, and this background has been a major part of shaping the food and wine offering from Moorooroo Park Vineyards.
“We’re a small boutique winery that focuses on organic barrel-aged reds,” Will said.
Moo Bar is a bit of a city tasting room and wine bar extension for the Barossa family-run winery.
“We put this big wall out the front a few years ago and closed it off from the road,” Will said.
It’s kind of like an escape in a way, off of the busy road.
“It kind of comes alive at night-time because all the trees light up and everything.”
The big iron gates give the venue an exclusive air, which carries through into the interior of the stone home and throughout the courtyards. The marble-coated bar top sits below a glowing wire pendant, which lights up green stools and wooden flooring.
“A lot of people drive past and just see the whole front of it, but they don’t actually know what we’ve got going on inside.”
It’s not the type of bar people stroll on into. You’ve got to be in the know about Moo Bar to go to the Moo Bar.
“We’re trying to make this place more of a destination that people come to and stay for a little bit,” Will said.
With all of their own wines available on site, produce handmade in the kitchen and a feed-me-style dinner offering, it’s a wonder anyone will want to leave.
Moo Bar makes all their own sourdough, chilli oil, olive oil, vino cotto and quince paste.
Will said people often ask whether they can buy these products, so part of the city-facing idea is to package them and make them available over the counter.
“With our food side of things, the idea is we have a general menu of snacks, like bar snacks almost,” Will said.
Think sardines on sourdough and hummus and chilli oil, things that are always a cheese board favourite in the Barossa.
“Because we’ve got the chef background, we’re doing a feed-me-style menu, where if people want to book in for dinner, we don’t necessarily have a menu as such.”
All you have to do is tell the team your dietary requirements, share your spice preference, and trust them to create a spread worth asking for the recipe.
“We have that available for dinner time, but really we want the main focus of this place to be more of a watering hole almost, like people coming in just wanting a glass of wine or a bottle of wine to share.”
The Moo Bar is having a soft launch period but are officially back open to the Adelaide crowd, if you know where to find them that is (we’ll give the address is below).
If you’ve been there before, it’s certainly worth checking out again and if you havn’t this is your sign to put Moo Bar on the list.
Moo Bar
Where: 31 North Terrace, Adelaide
When: Thursday, Friday – 11am to late and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – 11am to 5pm
For more info, click here.
