Bar H spin-off Banksii heads the vermouth revival at new Barangaroo location

If you wait long enough everything has a revival, even vermouth. "It's a lovely drink," says Bar H co-owner Hamish Ingham, who opens Banksii this week with partner Rebecca Lines. "Unfortunately a lot of people remember their grandma having a bottle which was left out, often oxidised and was putrid."

As well as the strong vermouth line-up at the bar, the new Barangaroo bistro pushes the botanical theme on the plate and its interior. Ingham says the brief to designer Luchetti Krelle included a nod to glasshouses and botanist Sir Joseph Banks, who inspired the restaurant's name.

The glass-enclosed kitchen, iron furniture and Bunsen-burner shelving props are not only on brief, but a refreshing take for Sydney restaurants.

"We've got some foragers, so lantana flowers are in the oyster and dry vermouth dish, and there's nettle butter with the mussels," Ingham says.

A British trifle with an Aussie update also hits Banksii's dessert menu. "We've even blended our own vermouth," he adds.

Open daily midday-11pm

33 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo, 02 8072 7037, banksii.sydney