Ace Hotel, the hip hotel group born in the glow of the hipster movement in the US Pacific Northwest, is joining the Sydney restaurant party.

In May, the new Ace Hotel Sydney, in Surry Hills, will open an 18th-floor rooftop restaurant, Kiln, with chef Mitch Orr confirmed in the kitchen; an all-day eatery, LOAM; and a lobby bar.

Kiln will have a giant retractable roof, two terraces and a bar, with Melbourne designer Fiona Lynch crafting the space. And Orr's food? Kiln, which takes its moniker from the kiln at the heart of the brickworks that once occupied the Wentworth Avenue site, has a wood-burning grill as its calling card. Orr isn't backing himself into a corner with the cuisine, drawing menu inspiration from Italy, Japan and south-east Asia.

Susan Buckley, Ace's VP of food and beverage, tells Good Food Orr's chef credentials, running his own business, ACME, along with his work with charities such as OzHarvest, helped seal the deal in the choice of a chef partner. "Community is really important at Ace," she says.

Buckley says the arts, community and burgeoning hotel hub of Surry Hills had strong appeal for the hotel group, which is known to be exacting in its choice of neighbourhood.

Ace's rooftop, with capacity for 150 people, will give it plenty of opening appeal. Down on the ground floor, all-day restaurant LOAM, a sister to LOAM at the hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, will have its own chef. Ace Sydney will squeeze a coffee shop and bar into its lobby, with wine and drinks writer and retailer Mike Bennie curating the hotel's beverage lists.

Buckley says Sydneysiders can expect anything from an art exhibition to a chef's talk at the new hotel. "Ace is the third space between work and home."