In a bumper year for restaurant openings, Sydney has saved one of its most anticipated for late in the game. King Clarence, from the experienced duo behind Bentley and Monopole, opened on Friday December 8th.

Possessing arguably the cutest name of the 2023 crop (because it’s on the corner of King and Clarence streets), King Clarence has one of Melbourne’s star chefs at the helm, and even had a whiff of pre-opening controversy.

When news broke earlier this year that one of the city’s most celebrated chefs, Brent Savage, and business partner, restaurateur Nick Hildebrandt, were branching out to open an Asian-inspired restaurant, there was a social media backlash suggesting they should stay in their food lane.

“I think they’re out of touch with the Australian dining scene,” Savage says of the commentators, arguing cultural cross-cultivation enriches our food landscape.

King Clarence is influenced by the cuisines of Korea, Japan and China, and executive chef Khanh Nguyen also brings his Vietnamese Australian background to the party. He’s not buying into whether his appointment will quell the critics but says: “I don’t think race defines what sort of food you cook.”

Nguyen worked in Savage and Hildebrandt’s Bentley Restaurant Group (he also lists Mr. Wong on his CV) before moving to Melbourne, where he saw big success at Aru. “You could always tell Khanh was going to make it. He’s super dedicated, always had his eye on the prize,” Savage said in October.

Before his surprising departure from Aru earlier this year, the venue took out Restaurant of the Year at The Age Good Food Guide Awards last year.

At Aru, Nguyen built a reputation for innovative food mash-ups, such as a duck sausage sanga, inspired by a Bunnings sausage, and pâté en croute with the flavours of banh mi.

Nguyen credits Mr. Wong executive chef Dan Hong for inspiring the tofu custard he uses in a play on mapo tofu, a dish in which he swaps pork mince for prawn, on King Clarence’s opening menu.

Savage recommends Nguyen’s condiment-rich, wood-roasted pork belly ssam – which includes an oyster cream emulsion and house-made kimchi – as a great dish to “share in the middle”.

“The [fish finger] bao is the snack you can’t not have,” Savage says. Nguyen, who talks about high-level technique with the assurance of an Olympics diving commentator, comes up for air when the bao is mentioned. It was inspired by the Filet-O-Fish he used to cook as a teenager working at McDonald’s. American cheese even sneaks into the snack.

Nguyen’s signature dish, a 14-day aged duck, is also on the opening menu, served with black cabbage, Davidson plum and radish.

The 100-seat restaurant is serious about its drinks program, with Cirrus head sommelier Polly Mackarel joining the King Clarence team. Savage stresses they want it to be a fun experience, with DJs later in the evening. Can we expect the chef to spin some vinyl? “I think those days are over for me,” Savage says.

Open daily lunch and dinner.

171 Clarence Street, Sydney, 02 8456 7120, bentleyrestaurantgroup.com.au/kingclarence