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Team Bentley have fishy plans at Noma
And after the 10 weeks? A seafood Bentley, kind of. Sydney restaurateurs Nick Hildebrandt and Brent Savage, the pair behind Bentley (CBD) and Yellow andMonopole (Potts Point) have signed on to take over the Barangaroo space now rented to 10-week pop-up Noma and Tourism Australia by landlord Lendlease. The restaurant will be seafood-focused and will open in September. “We’ve long toyed with the idea of a seafood-focused restaurant,” the pair said via their PR. “Once we saw this site, we knew we could create something pretty special ... an exciting restaurant on the harbour with a strong wine program and a menu that is centred around sustainable seafood.” Other than Matt Moran, the signing is the first serious feather in the Barangaroo cap.
MELBOURNE: Southbank stayer Pure South is on the cusp of major change, as the restaurant is to nearly triple in size, be totally remodelled and change format. It will close on April 12 for at least 13 weeks as the building is extended and the restaurant goes upstairs. “Basically, we’re reinventing the business,” says co-owner Philip Kennedy, who describes the next iteration of PS as “far more accessible and flexible”. “The words fine dining don’t mean the same thing now as they did when we opened 12 years ago.” According to partner Peter Leary: “We’re a bit sick of being seen as that entree/main/dessert kind of restaurant. We’ve been able to negotiate a new lease and had incredible support from the landlord. They realise that dining has changed.” Herbert Mason, the architects behind Andrew McConnell’s Meatsmith and Maurice Terzini’s forthcoming Da Maurizio in Sydney, will design what will, in effect, be a whole new restaurant. New exec chef David Hall has a busy year ahead.
SYDNEY: The city’s next MoVida, in the CBD, will supersede its present Surry Hills restaurant. The company behind the highly successful Spanish collection (Bali licensee just opened) has put its Holt Street premises on the market. The brand/goodwill is not for sale. Broker Michael Fischer assures us MoVida will continue to trade until the lease is reassigned. The asking price is $350,000 on an annual rental of $174,000 plus GST and outgoings.
PERTH: A very gradual embrace of coastal dining continues today with the official launch of another big seaside restaurant, Odyssea, at City Beach. The 300-seater with an additional kiosk precedes the other big seaside launch this year (in the same, impressive new building), The Hamptons (First Bite, Nov 24). Odyssea is a big play for proprietors Eleanor and Fabio Hupfer, well known locally for previous businesses Hubbles Yard (East Fremantle) and Metrio & CO (North Perth). Exec chef Alan Spagnolo has been around the Perth eating scene for years; his last gig was relaunching the food outlets at the very cool Cottesloe Hotel last year. The third food outlet for the City Beach headquarters of the local lifesaving club, Rise, will be a pizzeria operated by Paul Zisopoulos, who has two other outlets trading as Little Caesars (Leederville and Hillarys) but which are not aligned with local pizza identityTheo Kalogeracos … who also has several Little Caesars (Mandaring and Victoria Park).
MELBOURNE: An interesting duo is behind a new food bar due to open in Johnston Street, Fitzroy, later this month. Casey Wall — the American chef of Rockwell and Sons — and Banjo Harris Plane — formerly sommelier/manager at Attica — are launching Bar Liberty with another Attica alumnus, Michael Bascetta. Wall will be head chef, and while Rockwell is known for its LA-style mash up of big US flavours spanning the south, Korea and Latino influences, the chef has a refined side, having worked previously at the prestigious Cutler & Co. Harris Plane tells us the bar will be wine-focused “serving bold yet approachable food, with unique wines and beverages.” More (soon, hopefully) at barliberty.com.au
TASMANIA: Chef Jeff Workman, a protege of acclaimed Saffire executive chef Hugh Whitehouse, has ben handed the reigns at a new Hobart restaurant. Peacock and Jones, a new contemporary restaurant attached to the Henry Jones Hotel, is part of The Federal Group, which also owns the uber-exclusive Saffire. The restaurant is in what was once known as Peacock Terrace, part of the historic three-storey IXL building, built in 1823. “There is no room for pretentious service within this restaurant,” said Workman. “During my time at Saffire, I realised the importance of the chefs themselves engaging with the guests. It’s important we get out on the floor, tell our stories and be proud of what we produce.”
MELBOURNE: Was the world — or at least Melbourne — ready for a specialist Calabrian restaurant? “Perhaps not in that area,” says Riccardo Momesso, chef and co-owner of ritzy Hawksburn Village’s Valentino’s Calabrian Kitchen. Momesso and business partner Sarah Porz have sold the restaurant, which may, or may not, continue to trade as Valentino’s Calabrian Kitchen. “Basically, I need a job,” says the well-regarded chef. “We couldn’t make the numbers stack up; the rent was high in relation to the trade … To be honest, I’d love to do something in the country.” Momesso is a huntin’-shootin’ — fishin’ kinda chef … Country entrepreneurs take note.
ADELAIDE: Chef Salvatore Pepe, one of the original partners behind Cibo Ristorante, which morphed into the omnipresent (in Adelaide) Cibo Espresso chain, is getting back on the pans at his own place next month. Pepe has signed for a Tuscan grill-style restaurant at Burnside Village — Pepe Bar Cucina. Replacing the now defunct H by Felici, Pepe’s wood-burning kitchen will produce a “different” style of Italian food. “It will be traditional Italian food but nothing like you see in Adelaide,” the chef told InDaily. “I’m old enough to feel confident about cooking what I want.”
INTERNATIONAL: And don’t our French cousins love a list? La Liste came out last week, an aggregated selection of 100 restaurants worldwide gleaned from reputable guides and websites. Restaurant De L’Hotel De Ville, in Crissier, Switzerland, came out on top; four Australian places made the top 100 (Vue de Monde, Attica, Rockpool and Quay, with another six in the next 900). Le Chefmagazine quickly weighed in with its 2016 list of the “100 Best Chefs in the World”. Number one, they say, is Michel Bras, followed by Pierre Gagnaire (France) andSeiji Yamamoto (Japan). The only Australians were Brett Graham, of The Ledbury in London, and Sydney/Singapore’s Tetsuya Wakuda. And it is with sadness that we mark the passing of Benoit Violier, chef/patron of Restaurant De l’Hotel De Ville. Violier, 44, reportedly took his own life. He had been due to attend the launch of the 2016 Michelin Guide in Paris today.
Source: The Australian, John Lethlean, 2nd February 2016
