Corey Costelloe has announced his next move, joining chef Dave Allison to open 20 Chapel in Marrickville. Cooking over fire is the focus, with Costello bringing his vast 15 years of experience from Rockpool Bar and Grill to man a custom-made wood-burning grill, alongside an on-site beef dry-aging room. Produce sourced from Allison’s Stix Farm will be joined by locally sourced seafood, perhaps Hawkesbury school prawns with soft polenta lardo and artichokes; or grilled enoki mushrooms with seitan celeriac jus. Costelloe and Allison have also enlisted some fresh talent with Owen Okada – who did his apprenticeship under Costello and also worked at Saint Peter and Clam Bar – joining them in the kitchen. A 100-year-old warehouse on Australia Street is now home to a new forward-thinking Mexican restaurant, Comedor. Head chef Alejandro Huerta (ex-No 92 and El Primo Sanchez) will showcase his Mexican heritage alongside skills learned working at Pujol in Mexico City and Noma in Copenhagen.
$65 December Set Menu
And when it comes to wines, Sommelier Jeremy Prus stocks an award-winning offering of only the finest Italian and Australian offerings. World-renowned chef Peter Gilmore’s artful, imaginative interpretation of Australian cuisine, is even more remarkable when tasted under the soaring sails of the iconic Sydney Opera House. Much like a ride on the Manly Ferry or the coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi, eating inside the Opera House is a Sydney rite of passage.
Rockpool Bar & Grill
Wine-wise, the list stays true to the Euro feel with a strong bias towards nebbiolo, Burgundy and Barolo, all of which washes down beautifully among the room’s warm mustard tones and dark woody finishes. A handsome new restaurant with a wine bar soul has opened inside a heritage-listed space, right by the Capitol Theatre. It’s a restaurant by a trio of hospo pros – Thomas Bromwich, Samuel Woods and Peter Chan. Bromwich and Woods met while working at Sydney wine bar institution Love, Tilly Devine. It was there, working alongside one another, that they envisioned the venue they would open together one day.
At Besuto, an omakase-style venture, fish with finesse is the name of the game. Best, alongside the gregarious chef Hiro Fujita, are trying their hand at the “leave it to you” style of dining that has taken Sydney by storm in recent months. The 14-seater is one of the fleet of eateries at the CBD’s Quay Quarter, alongside neighbours like underground bar Apollonia and mega venue Hinchcliff House.
- Don’t expect stereotypical steakhouse offerings and vibes at this pasture-to-plate, sustainably focused restaurant; the menu also offers an abundance of seafood from tuna carpaccio to caviar and whole Sydney Rock lobster to seared king prawns XO.
- Located in the historic Rocks district, Saké The Rocks stands out in Japanese fine dining.
- You’ll find AALIA within the stunning multimillion-dollar Martin Place transformation, neighbouring other newbies like Botswana Butchery and Cabana Bar.
Tucked down Angel Place’s cobbled laneway in stellenbosch top restaurants the CBD, it draws inspiration from both of these heritages while managing to be something entirely new. Wear your stretchy pants to a Venetian-inspired diner; a northern Italian spot with its own “pasta lab”; a Melbourne icon around since ‘8…