Veteran chef Neil Perry has closed his Double Bay bar Bobbie’s after less than a year

Veteran chef Neil Perry has announced the closure of his Double Bay underground bar Bobbie’s in order focus on and save his restaurant Song Bird.

Veteran chef Neil Perry has announced the closure of his Double Bay underground bar Bobbies after less than a year of operation.

After speculation over it’s future Perry, 67, has revealed the speakeasy style bar, which he opened last August with Australian-born, US-based Linden Pride, has served up it’s final cocktail and is now closed.

“Linden and I have mutually agreed to close Bobbie’s,” says Perry in a statement. “Linden’s US-based hospitality group, Dante, is expanding rapidly, with multiple new venues planned across America in the next 18 months. Our landlords are in discussions with prospective operators interested in taking over the space.

There were reports Perry was looking for a buyer for the bar, which despite operating on the same street as Perry’s award winning Margaret had struggled to make money.

However Perry has decided to close the bar to focus on his restaurant above it, Song Bird.

Neil Perry with collaborator Linden Pride in downstairs bar Bobbies. Photo: Hugh Stewart

The speakeasy style bar was a tribute to Pride’s grandfather, Australian hall-of-fame disc jockey Bob Rogers .Picture: Supplied.

“Running Bobbie’s has been a fantastic experience. While we’re disappointed to see it go, this move allows Linden to focus on Dante’s growth and gives me the opportunity to concentrate fully on Song Bird, Margaret, Next Door, and our bakery,” Perry said.

Perry has also shut down swirling rumours that the Cantonese restaurant Song Bird would soon be closing its doors.

“Song Bird is absolutely not closing,” Perry said, insisting instead he’s working with his landlords to streamline the floor-space of the multi-storey restaurant. The restaurant will go from 240 seats to 140 seats. Perry confirmed that the top floor of the heritage listed Gaden House, originally intended as a dual-purpose event space and a la carte restaurant, will be relinquished and repurposed as a private office tenancy.

Neil Perry at his Restaurant Song Bird in Double Bay, which is located above Bobbies. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“With a more focused approach, a 140-seat venue—including some outdoor seating—and an exciting new menu featuring Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese flavours, Song Bird will now be the ideal size to manage and a key part of the Margaret Family Precinct moving forward,” Perry said.

In April, The Sunday Telegraph revealed Perry has brought in friend and designer Collette Dinnigan to help make his Double Bay restaurant Song Bird really sing after what he described as an “overwhelming start.”

Perry said because the cost of the restaurant and Bobbies had blown out to $12m, he was forced to open the restaurant too quickly. Staff weren’t trained properly in the restaurant and equipment like the dumbwaiter, which is used to transport food between levels, wasn’t working properly.

“The first three months were the worst of my life … I should have cancelled a months worth of bookings, so we could open properly,” Perry said.

“Even after this many years in business, you can still make monumental mistakes.”