Chef and restaurateur Cuong Nguyen has made a name for his creative contemporary spin on Vietnamese cooking at Marrickville’s Hello Auntie and its lively city pad at Darling Square.

Now he’s expanding into the heart of Sydney’s CBD with the opening of Hey Chu on Castlereagh Street.

The late-night spot opens on Monday, April 3 as the second stage of publican Jim Kospetas’ revamp of Hotel Downing in the legal district. (Stage one, a casual Latin American eatery Fugo, opened earlier in March.)

The menu takes a new direction, driven by smaller bar snacks and Vietnam’s after-dark drinking scene.

Head chef Bremmy Setiyoko (formerly of Spice Temple and Sepia) puts a new spin on congee to make an Asian pot pie with koshihikari, roasted chicken broth and abalone topped with golden pastry.

Nguyen’s Australian-Vietnamese upbringing is also reflected on the menu with his thit kho – reinterpreted here to pair frilly egg pappardelle with pork leg braised in coconut water, fermented anchovy and spices.

On the secret menu, diners can cook smoked meats on a hibachi grill for DIY fun – but only after 9pm.

“The drinking culture in Vietnam is quite fierce; we like to drink and snack all hours,” Nguyen says.

“I want to make diners feel like they’re on the streets of Vietnam.”

In-house dry-aged meats are displayed in a dedicated meat fridge, while produce is sourced from local suppliers Northside Seafood, Red Claw Seafood and O’Connor Beef.

The inviting level one space is decorated with Vietnamese street art and handmade lanterns, while sommelier Patrick Harrowsmith (formerly of Love Tilly Devine and Dear Sainte Eloise) has built a comprehensive wine list and Peter Pham adds South-East Asian flair to the cocktail list.

Pham’s What The Pho cocktail combines house-infused coriander tequila with ginger liqueur, Cointreau, pho syrup, spiced fish sauce and lime.

Live artists perform on weeknights while an in-house DJ takes over on Friday and Saturday nights.

Open Mon-Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri and Sat 5pm-3am.

Hey Chu, Level 1, 249 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, heychu.com.au