When the construction fencing finally comes down today at Nielsen Park, Sydneysiders will get their first dip at Shark Beach and coffee at its kiosk in nearly three years.

Although there have still been a few carefully planned aquatic expeditions over that period, says Bill Drakopoulos, operator of The Nielsen hospitality complex that includes The Kiosk. “People were coming in by kayak to swim on the beach because it wasn’t fenced on the waterside. You can’t stop Aussies.”

When Shark Beach closed in March 2022 to allow the replacement of the 100-year-old seawall, it was originally supposed to reopen in December 2022. Wet weather, the discovery of asbestos, and an engineering dispute pushed the date out.

Given the Shark Beach name, Drakopoulos says its massive net, popular with swimmers at the harbour beach, has been replaced in recent weeks, a finishing touch to Nielsen Park’s smart new waterfront.

“It’s a really close-knit community here, meeting for a swim and a coffee. They’ve missed the beach,” he says.

Drakopoulos’ Sydney Restaurant Group has Sails at Lavender Bay and Woolloomooloo’s Manta in its stable, but the restaurateur’s focus in Vaucluse is firmly on beachgoers.

“The Kiosk isn’t an upmarket restaurant. It’s like a bistro at a really cool pub, you order at the counter, there are maybe 100 seats [including] outside,” he says. The site now also boasts The Beach Club, an events space.

Chef Jordan Middleton serves up beachside favourites such as fish and chips, calamari, and wagyu burgers on the opening takeaway menu, plus there’s a pizza oven, tuna poke bowls and chicken schnitzel for a sit-down lunch.

Early morning swimmers can grab a smashed avo on toast with macadamia pesto, cherry tomatoes and poached eggs, and there’s also “The breakfast in Vaucluse”: a cocktail jug to share, featuring Aperol, vodka, limoncello, passionfruit, grapefruit and soda.

Sydney Restaurant Group director Perry Drakopoulos has skipped the overdone Mediterranean seaside aesthetic for a more local design flavour.

“I went with iconic Australia,” he says. “Those yellow and cinnamon colours of the 1970s. The kiosk [and old restaurant] used to be separated by a wall, which we’ve got rid of to open the space up.”

Bill Drakopoulos is excited to finally reopen, even if he knows swimming will be the focus on its opening days. “The community is excited. We’ve been told they are going to start taking the fences down at 7am, so I imagine the beach will be open by the afternoon.”

Open breakfast Sat-Sun; lunch daily; coffee and takeaway 7am-7pm daily

Greycliffe Avenue, Nielsen Park, Vaucluse, thenielsen.com.au