Sydney chef Neil Perry opens up on new Chinese restaurant, Songbird

Award-winning chef Neil Perry has opened up about his latest Double Bay restaurant and bar, and revealed why this venture will be his last.

Neil Perry has literally stopped traffic in Double Bay. He’s months into building his new, multi-storey restaurant on Bay St and there are construction trucks everywhere.

The venue, which is mere metres away from his bistro Margaret, will be home to a Chinese restaurant, Songbird, and a speakeasy style bar, Bobbie’s.

The four-storey venue is costing the veteran chef over $12 million.

“I don’t really have enough money to finish this thing, but I’m going to finish it anyway,” said Perry.

It’s definitely one of Perry’s most ambitious projects. But is it his last?

“It’s the last one,” he declares.

“I don’t really ever see a point where I don’t own the restaurants but I’d like to take a few more holidays.

Award-winning chef and restaurateur Neil Perry in his natural habitat — the kitchen. Picture: Toby Zerna

I’m sitting down for lunch at Perry’s award-winning restaurant, Margaret, just days before Perry turns 67.

It also comes just two weeks after Perry received the Icon Award at the World’s Best 50 Restaurants ceremony in Las Vegas.

“My body is pretty broken,” Perry says of his 49 years in the pressure-cooker restaurant game.

“I’ve worked two lifetimes. My back is terrible, my shoulder is terrible.”

Yet, he persists.

Journalist Karlie Rutherford and Perry tuck in at his restaurant Margaret in Double Bay. Picture: Tim Hunter

Unlike many chefs or restaurateurs, Perry spends most of his week at his Double Bay precinct, which includes Margaret, Baker Bleu and Next Door. He’s either in the kitchen, on the pass, or “moaning about the dog wee on my pot plants”, he says.

So he takes charge of our lunch ordering.

Despite being a seafood-focused restaurant (there is literally a picture of an oyster on the menu), Margaret was recently named the world’s third best steak restaurant and ranked ahead of steak restaurant Rockpool, which Perry previously owned.

Perry orders us a 220g CopperTree 60 Month Friesian Fillet with Red Curry Butter and Grilled Shallots, which we split because he’s currently in the middle of tasting dishes at Songbird, so he’s been eating a lot. The steak is cooked medium rare and, unlike many chefs, he says he wouldn’t argue if I preferred it another way (“You can’t tell people how to suck eggs, if that’s what they like that’s what they like,” he said)

We pair the steak with boiled greens and Wentworth’s twice-cooked crispy and creamy potatoes, which deserve an award in their own right.

And while Perry says he “probably drinks too much great wine,” we both stick to water.

Perry with daughter Josephine during book launch at Rockpool in 2024. Picture: Robert Rosen

In the same venue 14 years later — nowadays she works the floor at Margaret. Picture James Croucher

When he’s not working, Perry’s dining at Margaret with his wife, and co-owner, Samantha once a week. In fact, Margaret has become such a family affair that daughter Josephine (who he calls JP) manages the restaurant, and his other two daughters Macy and Indy, are often working on the floor.

The fact Perry gets to spend so much time with his daughters, in a restaurant named after his mother, is not lost on him.

“I missed out a lot with my daughters when they were little because I was travelling so much,” says Perry, who started his career on the restaurant floor before heading into the kitchen.

Despite never being formally trained as a chef, Perry (who actually started out his apprenticeship in hairdressing) became a household name after opening Rockpool in 1989. From there, he opened venues in Melbourne and Perth.

“I got on a plane every other week for probably most of their life until Covid. So it’s beautiful having this restaurant where we all work together,” he said.

“I never thought I’d love anything as much as Rockpool. But I really feel like I love this restaurant more than anything. It is the culmination of my entire career getting to this kind of Margaret precinct and being named after my mother.

Perry’s other two daughters Macy (right) and Indy (not pictured) also work at Margaret, which is named in honour of his Mum. Picture: John Feder

“My mum would be so proud her three grandchildren work in it. I often think about it a lot.

“She was so involved in the restaurants, loved them so much.

“She passed away in 2015, so we’ve had a while without her. Almost ten years. But I just think about her looking down at these guys being so proud. I wish she could see it.”

Now, Perry is preparing for life as a grandfather. Josephine is due at the end of the year with her first child with husband Michael Clift, who owns Pellegrino 2000 — the restaurant Taylor Swift visited while in town for her Eras tour.

“I’m super-excited. Often with my children I was working really hard when they were little so I’m really looking forward to getting to do that baby stage again,” he said.

Another life stage Perry is embracing is that as industry leader.

The CopperTree 60-month Friesian fillet with red curry butter.

Wentworth’s twice-cooked crispy and creamy potatoes.

He recently became Chair of the newly minted Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association which aims to lobby both local, state and federal government on the importance of the $64 billion hospitality industry.

“I’ve always been politically active and thinking about how I’m voting. I was brought up in a great era of Gough Whitlam winning power and voted for him in the elections of ’75. Then Paul Keating, Howard.

“You know, these guys were actually statesmen and had a vision for what the country’s going to be. Now, with the way social media works, everything’s clickbait. Politicians change decisions all the time,” Perry said.

Karlie Rutherford and Neil Perry at the entrance to Margaret. Picture: Tim Hunter

Some in the industry have questioned Perry’s involvement, saying the perils of the industry don’t affect him because of his status.

“I accept that I try not to talk about the ups and the downs because we’re so busy. But what I would love to do in my role as chair is to do as much fighting for the smaller operators,” he said.

“I would hope the RBA does not overreact to the latest inflation numbers because a rate rise in the middle of winter in Australia could be catastrophic for restaurants.”

However 49 years in the business has also taught Perry that everything is cyclical. And while he’s had many successes, he also admits to his failings including opening a Rockpool at Darling Harbour in the 90s.

“I’ve had a few failures and I’ve lost money. But I wouldn’t be here now without them.”

“You’re not going to bat at 100 per cent, so don’t let failure define you.

“If you’re going to fail, fail quickly. Don’t flog a dead horse for 10 years. Figure it out. Change direction. Even if that means closing. Get out and take the loss.

“Don’t ever let that stop you from taking on the next challenge, because that is, failure in itself.

“The disaster down at Darling Harbour made me really focused on the right location.”

Which is why the Neil Perry precinct at Double Bay has been so fruitful.

“I couldn’t imagine a better spot. It feels after putting my whole life in the corporate world, in the city that I wanted to go somewhere that was relaxed and comfortable, but still sophisticated,” he says.

And while there has so much that has changed for Perry lately, there is one thing that remains the same. His trademark ponytail. It’s been with him since the start, having left Newington College because they asked him to cut it. So, would he ever consider chopping it off?

“I don’t think so,” he said. “But it’s naturally falling out so it’s making the decision for me.”

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