Opera Bar – Sydney’s most iconic harbourside venue – has reopened today with a fresh new team, an amped-up music program and an exciting menu celebrating the city’s diversity of flavours. Applejack Hospitality, who oversee top Sydney restaurants and bars including Rafi, Forrester's, The Butler and Taphouse, have taken over operations for Opera Bar and House Canteen for the next decade from Matt Moran’s Solotel, who lost the tender after 24 years. We're lucky to get the scoop on what's in store.
Overseeing the exciting new food direction is chef and Director of Culinary for Applejack Hospitality Patrick Friesen, whose CV spans Papi Chulo, Queen Chow Manly and Ms G’s, among others. Coming back to cook under the white sails of the Opera House is a full-circle moment for Friesen, who came to Australia 16 years ago from Canada, and whose first gig in Sydney was at Bennelong.
“Getting to take over from Matt Moran and the Solotel group and be in Matt’s shoes 24 years ago feels pretty special,” says Friesen to Time Out Sydney.
"I’m excited to build our community of collaborators, suppliers, farmers and fishers. This is a love letter to Sydney, and we will showcase to the world what the most delicious city on Earth is all about,” he adds.
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New South Wales’s best farmers and producers will be highlighted on the menu in one cracking harbourside location. Take the antipasto platter, for example, which is loaded with Pino’s buttery mortadella from Kogarah, creamy La Stella mozzarella from Auburn, and Westmont pickles from Thirlmere. Pizzas are made using long-fermented dough crafted with sustainably grown wheat from farms around Tamworth. Tiger prawn cocktails come spiked with hot sauce from a collaboration with The Fermentalists, and the signature cheeseburger features a juicy pattie made with Rangers Valley beef, minced in-house at Leichhardt’s small independent butcher, Great Meats, with lettuce, tomato, onion, Westmont dill pickles, burger sauce and fries. Mouth watering yet?
Next door at House Canteen, expect a brand-new breakfast menu (morning meetings by the harbour, anyone?), fresh baked goods and pan-Asian eats, including a coconut chicken curry and grass-fed beef brisket rendang.
And if there’s one dish you have to order, better make it the pork and prawn spring rolls with herbs, pickles, lettuce and fish sauce, says Friesen. “Phu Quoc restaurant in Cabramatta makes the most delicious pork and prawn spring rolls served with herbs, lettuce, pickles and nuoc mam. We want to convince them to supply us so we can serve their soon-to-be world-famous spring rolls here. For now, we have made our version – but watch this space.”
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The food menu is back, paired with a solid, holiday-like drinks menu featuring plenty of great Australian wines, smashable cocktails and spritzes. Hello, golden hour at Opera Bar.
We’re not just pumped about the eats and drinks – Opera Bar is also partnering with Arts Matter to curate the weekly line-up, so you can expect more live music, epic events and big cultural moments.
Applejack co-founders Hamish Watts and Ben Carroll say the team is excited to welcome guests: “This week marks a huge milestone for our team. We're honoured to be custodians of the Lower Concourse venues and can't wait for guests to experience the passion and care we're bringing to Opera Bar and House Canteen. We have an incredible team who seamlessly executed a quick turnaround, and we look forward to bringing you on the journey as we reimagine what's possible here.”
This is just the start, with much more in store, including a full-scale renovation slated for next year. Bring it on. Find out more here.