Turkish celebrity chef Somer Sivrioglu will join the party at the new Sydney Fish Market, opening a 280-seat seafood restaurant at the $800 million redevelopment next year.

There’s been plenty of conjecture over the opening schedule of the delayed Blackwattle Bay project, but the chef’s team says they will serve their first fish cooked over charcoal in September or October 2025.

Turkish-born Sivrioglu built a small empire of restaurants in Sydney, including Efendy at Balmain and Barangaroo’s Anason, before he was plucked to present MasterChef Turkey. “You can’t walk down the street with Somer in Turkey without people stopping him for a photo,” says Efendy Group general manager Fatih Kulle.

Though he lives most of the year in Turkey, Sivrioglu remains committed to the Sydney hospitality market. Kulle says: “We were sold on the idea of the Fish Market being one of Sydney’s big three attractions, along with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It’s going to be the third-biggest fish market in the world.”

The infrastructure is a big part of the appeal for incoming operators, as are projections that the rebooted Sydney Fish Market will double its 5.5 million annual visitors.

When the yet-to-be-named eatery opens, Kulle says it will be the largest restaurant at the Fish Market. The menu will take a broadly Mediterranean approach, but Efendy group executive chef Arman Uz says balik ekmek (Turkish fish sandwich) will be available in the restaurant’s takeaway kiosk.

Sydney Fish Market has been tight-lipped about incoming operators, but in May, Good Food revealed that a restaurant from celebrity chef Luke Nguyen and a spin-off from the hatted Ho Jiak were part of the plans.

The Fish Market’s stable of current operators is also involved. A spokesman for retailer GetFish says its expansion in the new building will include “the largest sushi train in Australia” and bespoke dining areas curated by chefs.

Touted as Sydney’s most significant harbourside building since the Opera House, the development will include designer food digs under a wave-shaped, scale-patterned roof with basement parking.

Sydneysiders can look forward to a promising food line-up. Gelato specialist Cow and The Moon, Vietnamese street food outfit Banh Mi & Phin, Nanjing Dumplings and inner west’s Dirty Red are also confirmed starters.