The Sydney CBD restaurant market is still finding its feet in the new COVID world, but its long-term prospects have been given a boost with an ambitious mega-venture opening in Shell House behind Wynyard Station.

Back in December 2019, Good Food reported Maurice Terzini and the Icebergs team were deep in negotiations to take the rooftop at Shell House, previously part of the old Menzies Hotel.

While Terzini dropped out of the project to concentrate on his roll-out of new venues such as CicciaBella and a recently opened bar, Re, his investors at Icebergs have pushed on at Shell House.

"It'll all come under [the] Shell House banner, but it's four venues in one," says Brett Robinson, chief executive of The Point Group.

It will include the ground-floor Menzies Bar, an all-day bar like you might find in Paris or Rome, with a moniker that tips its hat to the former Menzies hotel.

With its own private Willy Wonka-style lift, customers will shoot up to Shell House's rooftop dining room.

There will be a cocktail bar inside the clock tower on the building's roof, with a large internal staircase leading up to Shell House Sky Bar. Those who have seen the plans say it has some of the architectural trimmings of the clubs of London and New York.

"We want to offer a creative oasis in the city," Robinson says of the Woods Bagot-designed venue.

Menzies Bar opens in July, with upstairs to follow in October.