A Natural: Ode’s Jeremy Moyle Loved The Euro Long Lunch So Much He Brought It Here

… He started a bar from scratch with three mates, Jerome Wallcroft, Ben Abiad and Benedict Maurice, each equal partners, the four of them spending several months fitting out the place themselves. They fashioned surfaces from repurposed blue gum timber, installed a hibachi grill behind the bar, left the brick walls deliberately bare. The result was, and is, impressive: an intimate space as welcoming as it is stylish. A bit Spanish tapas, a bit Little Italy, all washed in a warm golden light from dangling Asian-style lanterns. 

But the real draw for locals – and not-so-locals – has been the philosophy behind the place. Abiad’s menus change with the seasons, using fresh, often organic produce, while a 150-strong wine list focuses exclusively on the natural. Alongside Wallcroft, this is where Moyle’s passion really lies. Having spent the best part of a year hopping around biodynamic vineyards and farms in Europe, he came back disillusioned by the experiences he’d had working in hospitality up to that point and wanting to reconnect customers to the origins of what they were consuming.

In finding three others who shared his ideas, Ode was born, and it’s since become a fixture on the area’s burgeoning bar scene – with plenty of hiccups, high times and happy hours along the way. We caught up with him to talk four-way marriages, Bondi style and the ins and outs of natural wine.

You travelled through Europe learning about natural wine and farming; when you returned, what inspired you, along with the three others, to create Ode?
I was a bit disheartened by hospitality in general, the disconnect of being in the city, not really being connected to the produce. That was the start of it. I wanted to explore that and see if I could find the passion in the produce. It was a real refreshing mindset. 

Everyone knows where everything’s come from – from their nonna’s farm or their cousin’s farm. We’re still a long way away from that – taking time to enjoy a nice, produce-driven lunch or dinner. We thought it’d be a nice idea to bring a bit of that mindset back.

So many people would love to start their own bar, but hospitality’s a notoriously tough industry  – how has your first year been?
It’s been a crazy year. We’ve been enjoying it a bit too much  – having access to all this beautiful alcohol and oysters every day! But being four partners, we’ve obviously had our differences at times  – a four-way marriage is always going to be tricky. No one’s left yet, though, so that’s the most important thing … So far, it’s been exciting  – all the numbers have been good and the feedback has been really good as well. It’s been far busier than we thought it would be, and now we have to keep that going. 

What does it mean to you, being in Bondi?
Bondi’s amazing. It’s the best place to live and work. You can walk up the coastal walk, have a swim or a surf in the morning, it’s beautiful. We’re blessed to be here. It can get a bad rap for being stuck up or arrogant, but I honestly don't think that’s true at all. It’s true that people are fashion conscious – they want to look good. But it’s also diverse enough that that’s definitely not all you get. 

You and your fellow bar-owners – how would you describe your own look?
I come from more of a surf, snow, skate background, so I lean towards that naturally. I’d grab a hoodie and jeans to kick about in. But I’m definitely more interested in clothes these days and I enjoy seeing what people are wearing around Bondi. At the moment I’m loving Spring Courts, Converse, classic Levi’s … Academy Brand is hard to beat as well.

You’ve got more than 150 natural wines on your menu, most from Europe. Why natural wines as opposed to conventional bottles?
Mainly because with natural wines, essentially nothing’s been added in the process. Traditionally, winemakers add acid, sugar, yeast: they’re looking for a particular flavour profile. In natural winemaking, they don’t do that. The way they’re produced, it means the wines are alive and they’re changing all the time. The winemakers don’t know how they’re going to taste in a year or two years. I love that.

And how have the wines been received?
The initial challenge for us was just getting our head around how people perceive different varieties. We had to figure out what people wanted. Because a lot of people would come in and want a chardonnay or a shiraz or a sauvignon, but all our varieties are predominantly European and they’re names a lot of people don’t know. Ultimately though, people seem to enjoy them and like knowing the backstories behind them, too.

Can you recommend a few good Australian natural wines? 

We generally look for winemakers who are growers. A lot of Australian wine producers don’t produce their own fruit, which is unusual in European standards. The fruit is the most important part of the process. Look out for wines by Patrick Sullivan and Stuart Proud from Victoria, and Stuart Olsen [Eloquesta Wines] from Mudgee – all great.