"After the police left we ordered a dessert course," Ms Campbell said. Chalkboard menus and wine to accompany feature prominently at 10 William Street. On Monday, NSW police said a sign advertising "free wine", as well as an "antisocial" chalkboard wine list, at 10 William Street, caught the eye of officers as they were assisting a heavily intoxicated woman in the gutter outside the venue. Though 10 William Street is licensed to operate as a restaurant, a number of factors led police to conclude the premises was operating as a bar. "A large number of patrons were consuming wine. A large wine list on the wall made no reference to food service. No tables had menus on them. A bar area with a large amount of wine and spirits was observed. The kitchen was closed," police said in a statement on Monday morning.

No action was taken against the venue, police said, "despite breaches being detected regarding failure of the primary purpose test (operating as a bar not a restaurant)". Reminiscent of an Italian restaurant: Inside the 10 William St venue. Credit:Christopher Pearce However, Ms Campbell said the police officers, who questioned the restaurant's staff outside, left without entering the premises, which also seats diners upstairs. Ms Campbell suggested there were no menus on tables visible from the street because most patrons had ordered and were already enjoying their meals. The wine list at 10 William Street. Credit:Instagram

"Suggesting, one would assume, that menus were no longer required," she said. The "large" wine list by-the-glass referred to by police consisted of roughly six white wines and six red wines, Ms Campbell said. This is consistent with an image of the wine list on the blackboard in an image posted on Instagram by the venue owner, Giovanni Paradiso. Ms Campbell, who has dined at the venue on numerous occasions, said she found the situation "bizarre". "We [my parents and I] feel very annoyed by the whole thing," she said.

"We were there for dinner and I had two wines by-the-glass. We were offered a menu straight away," she said. "I just feel like this was uncalled for. I understand antisocial behaviour can be a problem in some areas, but this was a restaurant. It's not [a nightclub] or a casino," she said. In a statement on Monday evening, NSW police said the officers were informed by the owner that the kitchen was closed when they attended the venue. Police said they were not disputing the fact that a limited number of people were still eating when officers attended the venue. "From our observation, however it appears the vast majority of the approximately 55 patrons had finished eating and were drinking," the statement read.

In an interview on 2UE's Drive program on Monday, Superintendent Murray Reynolds said the restaurant had been serving alcohol without food, in defiance of its licensing restrictions. "The way it was being operated, certainly in the view of our police that were there, was that is was more consistent with a small bar or a wine bar," Superintendent Reynolds said. "And I should note that the owner, in his quote in the [Daily Telegraph newspaper] this morning, he refers to it as a wine bar. Well, it's simply not a wine bar it's a restaurant," he said. "Police were not proceeding down the line of enforcement at any time in regards to this matter, and were not intrusive to the business," he said. The incident prompted widespread incredulity and outrage on social media and serving as the latest lightning rod for opposition to Sydney's liquor laws.

The furore was triggered by an Instagram post by Mr Paradiso on Saturday. "So according to the NSW POLICE FORCE our blackboard with what we are pouring by the glass is promoting unsavoury antisocial behaviour," Mr Paradiso wrote on photo-sharing site Instagram on Saturday night. "SYDNEY WHAT THE F--- IS HAPPENING". Mr Paradiso has been contacted for further comment. The incident took place amid a wider police operation targeting alcohol-related violence, anti-social behaviour and compliance with liquor laws.

"Such operations are conducted by police to ensure the safety and security of local residents, visitors and the wider community in Sydney's major entertainment districts," police said. However, the police intervention at 10 William Street has been criticised by Sydney's hospitality community, greeted with outrage and derision on social media, and fed the ongoing debate about the state of Sydney's night life. Tyson Koh from Keep Sydney Open, which formed in response to the state government's 2014 lockout laws, said Saturday night's incident was an example "of the kind of overbearing policing that venues have been faced with for a number of years now". "It's a classic case of overreach which makes running a safe venue really quite difficult," Mr Koh said. "Venues are more concerned with trying to not accrue fines rather than run their venues in the best possible way."

Fairfax Media