17 November 2020

Hot in the City: say hello to Verity Lane Market

| Sophia Brady
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Verity Lane Markets

First Look at Verity Lane Markets. Photo: Lean Timms.

Civic will see new life breathed into it with the opening this Thursday (22 October) of the long-awaited Verity Lane.

Touted as an upmarket international food hall right in the centre of Canberra, the new venture has been purpose-built to keep elements of the building’s heritage, while creating the comforts modern-day fit outs offer. Communal seating, craft beverages and a superstar line-up of chefs promise to make for a unique experience.

Located in Northbourne Avenue’s historic Sydney Building, Verity Lane Market sees itself as a chef-driven food hall. Some of Canberra’s best chefs will congregate in the professional kitchens to create a gastronomic ground zero in the heart of the city.

Singaporean delights

Expect Singaporean delights at Enoki Project by Gerald Ong. Photo: Ash St George.

The market will open with three kitchens.

Enoki Project is driven by Gerald Ong of Chairman and Yip fame and features a menu inspired by favourite Asian flavours and Gerald’s modern sensibility.

Ramen Daddy is the venture of locals Eddy Tsai and John Leverink who have collided French and Japanese cultures to create a modern menu of Ramen delights.

The third kitchen is Silvio Miceli’s Pizza Artigiana which serves up traditional Italian pizza like it’s an art form, making any Nonna proud.

Ramen Daddy

Ramen Daddy will wow diners with Japanese fusion cuisine. Photo: Ash St George.

To match the calibre of the food coming out of the kitchens is an elegant bar stocked to the brim with world-class drinks. At Verity Lane Market, these will be served directly from the early 20th century inspired Verity Bar and feature an array of exceptional wines, spirits and craft beers, as well as a cocktail list curated by cocktail connoisseur Benito Drovandi.

“October’s list of cocktails will lead off with the Verity Martini, a delicious blend of rhubarb vermouth, vodka and passionfruit served dangerously short,” says Mr Drovandi.

Elegant bar

Verity Bar is a feature of the new precinct. Photo: Lean Timms.

The new foodie precinct takes its name from Verity Hewitt who opened Canberra’s first bookshop above Leo’s Café in the late 1930s. This piece of the Sydney Building went on to house the renowned Private Bin, which in turn became Insomnia, ICBM, Meche and North Bar. It’s a corner of Canberra which has seen many merry nights and with the opening of Verity Lane Markets is set to see many more enjoyed in this historic setting.

Verity Lane Market has been designed by Mather Architecture, recently known for their prize-winning re-design of Monaro Mall, as a playful dialogue of its many layers of history, working to utilise the rear laneway – Verity Lane – to be a catalyst of laneway culture in Canberra and revitalise Civic.

The Market is the brainchild of innovator Phillip Keir, formerly an Australian publisher of Rolling Stone magazine.

“We have a number of exciting vendors ready to move into our remaining three kitchens and have planned for some unique and exciting pop-ups to open before the end of the year,” says Mr Keir.

“We’ve also strategically set up a Test Kitchen to allow for interested chefs to trial new concepts before committing to a kitchen.”

As COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease and Canberra opens back up again, so too will Verity Lane Market. The Market is the first part of a larger food precinct set to take over this historic corner of the Sydney Building.

Verity Lane Market is located at Verity Lane on Northbourne Ave, Canberra and will be open Thursday to Saturday from 5:00 pm.

Verity Lane Markets

Verity Lane Markets open on Thursday. Photo: Lean Timms.

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