Iconic Sydney restaurant set to open in Crown Towers in 2025
It was the restaurant loved by all. But in 2021, lovers of Golden Century were left heartbroken when it dipped into administration. But now, this iconic eatery has a new home.
Walking through the glass doors and into the glistening foyer of Crown Towers in Sydney, the hustle and bustle, Christmas decor and smell of champagne is well and truly in the air.
With summer upon us, the iconic precinct towering over the city’s glitzy Barangaroo foreshore has a string of surprises in the pipeline for the busiest time of year — as well as a few bold new additions set to sweep through the doors of the 349-room establishment from 2025.
So if you’re in the mood for a little luxury, or perhaps stuck for an idea on how to spend a day or two this silly season — we have you covered.
Iconic Golden Century restaurant set to return in 2025
After 32 years, the beloved Cantonese restaurant ended its lease on Sussex Street and went into administration during Sydney’s second lockdown in 2021.
Golden Century Seafood Restaurant, frequented by politicians and anyone looking for a delicious and authentic Chinese food experience, was famed for its wall-to-wall crab and lobster tanks.
But after much anticipation (and an announcement at a glitzy gathering around the hotel’s lavish harbourside pool) Golden Century is set to reopen permanently at Crown Sydney in January next year.
The institution’s co-owners – Eric and Linda Wong and son Billy – will take over the space that was previously occupied by Silks, with diners set to enjoy some of the signature dishes and drinks alongside sweeping harbour views.
Crown Sydney Chief Executive Officer, Stanford Le, said there was much excitement around the new offering from next year.
“We are thrilled to become the new home of the iconic Golden Century,” he said, saying the new home for the iconic restaurant will offer guests an experience that is “nostalgic and exciting.”
It’s understood the new restaurant will pay homage to the original with a menu filled with some of their signature dishes, including XO pipis, live lobster cooked two ways, and abalone steamboat, as well as other signature classics like Peking duck, salt and pepper squid, and a yum cha lunch offering.
Golden Century’s new venue will seat approximately 150 guests and will sit on the third floor of Crown.
One of Bondi’s ‘best’ set to ‘pop-up’ within hotel
Forget venturing to the east, because one of Sydney’s most famous food and beverage experiences will now sit within the CBD over the summer season.
Icebergs Dining Room & Bar will call Crown home for a balmy pop-up experience, dubbed Icebergs Harbour Bar.
Kicking off just in time for the silly season on the ground floor of the hotel, the intimate Icebergs venue will have all the famous drinks and vibes loved by visitors to the original Bondi location.
Diners can expect favourites such as the Iceburger, fried school prawns with aioli and lime, and signature cocktails like the No. 147 with Ketel One vodka, coconut, passionfruit, pineapple, lemon and aromatic bitters.
And the best bit? Don’t stress if you don’t have a booking. Icebergs Harbour Bar will be open seven days a week and will be available for walk-ins.
Lush Knesko mask at Crown Spa
Tis’ the season for every knot in the shoulders and lower back to become ever so evident, and what better way to remedy the tension than with an hour or two in perhaps the most luxurious spa on offer in Sydney.
Crown Spa, sitting on the sixth floor of the 270 metre building, is literal heaven on earth.
If spending an hour or so in the spa’s award-winning Aqua Retreat isn’t enough to get you relaxed, tack on an hour-long relaxation massage or perhaps a facial and you will be floating out the front door.
I went with the relaxation massage and added on a lush collagen filled Knesko mask, which was applied halfway through the treatment. The masks are luxurious, gemstone infused face applications using premium ingredients designed to nourish your skin).
Knesko face masks are available at Crown Sydney for guests to enjoy poolside throughout summer or as an addition a treatment within the spa. And as someone who doesn’t get a facial all too often — I couldn’t have left more relaxed even if I tried.
Slip into Woodcut for a dining experience like no other
Dishing up some of the highest grade cuts of beef in Sydney, when it’s time to indulge (and let’s face it, the festive season is when to do it) a long-lunch session at Woodcut on the ground floor of the hotel.
You cannot go past the Halloumi, Malfroy’s honeycomb, thyme, apricots with the Pioik’s bakery ferment sourdough to start, followed by 400 grams of the dry aged, grass fed Bone in sirloin surrounded by Victorian asparagus and Woodcut’s iconic Hasselback potato.
As part of the summer series, premium tequila brand PATRÓN will launch a ‘Summer at Hickory Bar at Woodcut’ series until early February, with a fun little happy hour slated each Monday.
This journalist visited Crown Towers as a guest of Crown
$100k ‘dream’ job every Aussie wants
Dust off that resume, and have your passport handy — because the hunt is on for an insane new role to travel the world and get paid $100k.
‘Pure magic’: Inside Sydney’s hidden secret
Well off the coastline and surrounded by a fairy-like secret garden, a poolside haven so enchanting awaits — and it’s a find like no other.
Ditch Bali for this hidden Aussie island
Bali this, Bali that. It’s time to check out a new tropical island — and this little hidden slice of paradise is much closer to home.