Prepare for a smokin’ hot addition to inner Sydney’s emerging neighbourhood.
Chippendale is having a moment. The central Sydney suburb is already home to celebrated bakery Brickfields and New Restaurant of the Year nominee Ester, and next year they’ll be joined by a trio of interesting eateries at The Old Clare, the boutique hotel opening on the site of the Clare Hotel on Broadway.
In the meantime, LP’s Quality Meats, the first solo venture from former Tetsuya’s head chef Luke Powell, is the hot new kid on the block.
The 100-seater is due to open just around the corner from Ester this month. “It’s going to be a meat-centric kind of place,” he says, “so we’ll be carving cured and smoked meats right at the bar.”
Powell is nothing if not versatile: he has worked at top-flight kitchens including the San Sebastián landmark Mugaritz, and also had a hand in designing Sydney’s tastiest burger, cooking at Mary’s in Newtown in its first months. He’s also laid his hands on a mammoth barbecue that “can cook hundreds of chickens at a time” but says he plans to steer clear of the American barbecue thing and avoid the more popular likes of pulled pork and ribs. “There are so many other things we can show.”
The space, an old mechanic’s workshop, will become 240 square metres of “polished concrete floors, walls of tiles and high ceilings”. A fellow Tetsuya’s alumnus, James Audas, will run the floor. “I really feel like it’s going to blow up, this area,” says Powell, a Chippendale resident of seven years’ standing. “I’m super-excited.”
LP’s Quality Meats, 1/12-16 Chippen St, Chippendale, NSW
Looking for more Sydney dining options? Check out our list of the best restaurants in Sydney.
