Six new Sydney restaurants going their own way

A bunch of new Sydney eateries are shaking up the dining scene with interesting and original takes on some old formulas. Amy Harris previews six of the best. INTERACTIVE: WHAT’S ON THE MENU

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Opening a restaurant is not for the faint-hearted, where tastes can change quickly and success be as brief as a flash in the pan.

But these six new restaurants are not just serving it up to their more established rivals, they are being credited with ushering in a new trend in eating.

There’s inner-city Korean fusion, a high-end Japanese-Chinese eatery making waves on the water at Pyrmont, a steak joint in a refurbished Western Sydney RSL and a Middle-Eastern oasis in Westfield‘s CBD shopping centre.

Then there is the restaurant with a remarkable backstory in Campbell’s Cove steakhouse 6Head — named after the six head of Black Cape cattle brought here by the First Fleet in 1788.

No sooner had the cattle arrived, all six disappeared one night.

6Head Restaurant in Campbell's Stores with stunning views of Sydney Harbour and the Opera House. Picture: James Gourley

Eight years later, rumours emerged that more than 100 head of cattle had been spotted 80 miles inland from Sydney, thought to be direct descendants of the six that had fled.

The story inspired owner Bradley Michael to open 6Head on what is essentially the site where the First Fleet landed.

“It was perfect,” said Michael, who also runs Italian Street Kitchen in Neutral Bay and Hunter And Barrel in Cockle Bay.

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The key to surviving the ruthless restaurant game, he said, all comes down to people and hiring.

“There’s no great secret … it’s just about hiring the right people, training them correctly and paying them correctly.

“Then you need to give them a clear goal and a vision of the business and value and appreciate them. It really is all about people.”

Another newcomer is the Chinese-Japanese collaboration Chuuka in the old Flying Fish building on Jones Bay Wharf.

Heading the Japanese side is acclaimed chef Chase Kojyima, while Melbourne’s Victor Liong provides the Chinese side of a groundbreaking menu that includes steamed foie gras custard with blue swimmer crab, carrot ginger sauce and shellfish essence.

Another Asian offering is Soul Dining at Surry Hills, the first restaurant from head chef Daero Lee (formerly of Criniti’s) and his partner Illa Kim, who comes from a background in marketing and PR. Together they have cracked an unconventional formula of Korean food with a dash of Aussie influence as well as a hint of German — a nod to the country where Lee grew up.

“We don’t really know how to describe it when customers ask what our food is,” said Kim, who added they have simply settled on “contemporary Korean”.

Victor Liong provides the Chinese side of the Chinese-Japanese collaboration Chuuka at Jones Bay Wharf.

Then there is the restaurant-of-the-moment Babylon, in the wonderfully unconventional rooftop of Westfield CBD.

Open only a few days and this Middle Eastern eatery from Efendy head chef Arman Uz is already the hottest ticket in town. The restaurant has been forced to turn midweek diners away, such is the demand for a table.

Out west in Rooty Hill, Sean Connolly is offering Steak and Co, one of the first eateries to open at the newly overhauled West HQ at Rooty Hill.

It may be a long way from Sydney, located in the far flung reaches of NSW’s Northern Rivers but Pipit has risen to be one of the state’s most buzzed-about new restaurants.

At the helm is Ben Devlin, former head chef at the acclaimed Paper Daisy at Halcyon House, who has struck out on his own with an eatery inspired by the coastal paradise (aka Byron Bay) where he grew up.

Originally published as Six new Sydney restaurants going their own way