If rooftops and Greek food are two of the hottest trends in Sydney dining right now, chef Peter Conistis has snagged the daily double. On Thursday, August 22, Sydney’s godfather of modern Greek cooking will open Rooftop Kouzina at The Bristol on Sussex Street in the CBD.

Fresh from receiving a glowing 15.5/20 review from Good Food at his newly opened Ammos restaurant at Brighton-Le-Sands, Conistis is tackling this second project in the CBD.

Rooftop Kouzina is just the first step at The Bristol. In five weeks, he’ll open a restaurant, Ela Ela (“come, come” in Greek) on one of the lower floors.

With all this opening action, something had to give, and Conistis is jettisoning his involvement at Ploos, the Greek restaurant he opened at The Rocks in 2021. “I didn’t want to spread myself too thin,” he explains.

When the chef was spotted near the Slip Inn earlier this year by some keen-eyed Sydney foodies, he wasn’t retracing the early days of the romance of the King and Queen of Denmark. He was quietly plotting his next move at Slip Inn’s neighbour, The Bristol Arms, owned by his backers at Ammos, Oscars Group.

The one-time “wharfie pub” and former home of beloved party club Retro has been given a head-to-toe redesign by Paul Papadopoulos and an abbreviated moniker, The Bristol. “Nothing has been spared,” Conistis says. “It doesn’t feel like a pub.”

“I’ve always loved the idea of opening a rooftop dining space,” says the veteran chef. “(Rooftop Kouzina) is my take on an Athens souvlaki bar.” The rooftop kitchen kit includes a spit roast and grill.

They’ll play roles in the opening menu, which will offer Conistis’s take on the lamb souvlaki, either on a skewer or in a wrap, and lamb kokoretsi, served straight off the spit roast in a spiced bread roll with onions and tzatziki.

And along with Mythos beer, the bar will be stirring up cocktails such as a Yuzu Highball made with yuzu gin, vermouth, StrangeLove yuzu and a sprig of rosemary, and a Bristol spritz blushing with Rhubi rhubarb liqueur.

It has been a tumultuous year for Conistis, who has completely overhauled the career he kick-started at his ground-breaking Cosmos restaurant in the 1990s.

His departure from Alpha restaurant in early 2024 saw former MasterChef judge George Calombaris briefly take his place in the kitchen during Public Hospitality’s short tenure at the restaurant.

After three decades of raising the profile of Greek cuisine in Sydney with dishes such as his signature moussaka of scallop and eggplant, Conistis finds himself at the centre of an explosion of new Greek venues, with Apollo spin-off Olympus set to join the party in Redfern later this year.

“I find it exciting Greek food is making such an impact on Sydney dining, and rightly so,” Conistis says.

Rooftop Kouzina opening hours Mon-Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; kitchen Mon-Sat noon-9.30pm

81 Sussex Street, Sydney, thebristol.com.au