Dessous Enters the Takeaway Game With Fancy Snack Packs and Cocktails by the Half-Litre

After being shuttered for nearly two months, Flinders Lane bar Dessous will reopen for takeaway food and drinks on Friday.

The subterranean spot has a new Dessous at Home menu that upholds its reputation as a destination for topnotch snacking (and boozing).

“A lot of [restaurants] are doing full take-home meals, but we just wanted to do some canapés and cocktails that you could have before a meal,” says Nathan Toleman, CEO of Mullberry Group, which runs Dessous as well as upstairs restaurant Hazel, and cafe big-hitters Liminal and Common Ground Project.

The menu will get a shake-up every few weeks, but for now each snack pack ($25 for a single serve) includes a bite-sized pork-belly katsu sando with house-made tonkatsu sauce; a bougie party pie filled with confit duck and shiitake; saffron-pickled Spring Bay mussels with potato crisps; hazelnut hummus with crudité; and leek and comté croquettes.

You can add a bottle of vino (there are four to choose from – one sparkling, one white and two reds) and one of four cocktails, which come in 100-millilitre and half-litre vessels. The Sherpa is a mix of bourbon, orange curacao and allspice dram, and shaken up in the Siesta combines tequila, Campari, grapefruit and lime.

Dessous is also debuting a new loyalty program. It costs $100 to sign up, and only 100 memberships are available – you’ll score a limited-edition keyring, a $100 bar tab when it reopens for dine-in service, and 10 per cent off all future bills.

“A lot of customers are wanting to buy vouchers, and we just wanted to give [them] some benefits for supporting us during this time,” says Toleman.

He adds that while Dessous will reopen with a 20-person capacity on June 1, in line with the recent government announcement, the team will keep takeaway going “until business is back to full capacity”.

Dessous’s takeaway menu is available on Fridays and Saturdays for pick-up, or delivery within five kilometres of the CBD. Pre-order and buy a membership here.

dessous.com.au