Small’s Bar & Bites

“We are so proud of our local suppliers that we even publish the distance that the feature ingredient has travelled to the venue on the menu, and provide a map to the producers we support on the website. Locality is one of the reasons that Small’s was opened. We live amongst world-class produce that is exported to tables internationally, yet it isn’t proudly showcased to locals.”

Crisp lamb nuggets with rosemary ketchup; cured bronze whaler with crispy potato straws, sour cream, chives, and mirin marinated salmon roe; and house frites eith miso aïoli and house-made chicken salt.

A dish of cured bronze whaler, eleven kilometres. Spook Rock Cabernet Shiraz Malbec, twenty-three kilometres. Small’s has some very big ideas about how to run its business – a big bar with bites – in a way that still has a local footprint. Writing the food miles on the menu isn’t exactly commonplace inside giant shopping centres, but Small’s thinks it should be the norm.

And check out those lamb nuggets, made from repurposed tongue and paired with house-made rosemary ketchup that even kids love. Booming small plates plus sly upcycling equal a soft-sell approach more likely to chime with diners than soapbox lecturing.

And how good is posting a map of local producers on your website? If everyone did that, we could map the world in small, sustainable food producers.