Spring may be the official season of renewal, but Four Seasons Hotel Sydney is breathing new life into its restaurant early with the opening of the freshly rechristened Mode Kitchen & Bar on 20 July. It has a new Mid-century look, and a new chef, in the form of Francesco Mannelli, who brings his Florentine background and time at Est and Balla to a revamped menu.
The restaurant has been through several incarnations in recent years, with Mark Best’s Pei Modern in the space until January this year, and before that The Woods from 2012 to 2014.
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Renders of the restaurant’s interiors.
Being Mannelli’s first outing heading a kitchen, Mode Kitchen & Bar differs from its predecessors in that there’s no blueprint to follow.
“I want the guests at the Four Seasons to be able to try the best ingredients Australia has to offer,” he says.
In a nod to the Florentine tradition of dry-aged T-bone steak, he plans to display whole racks of meat in a cabinet that will be a focal point of the dining room, ageing the steaks himself and cutting them to order.
He also plans to make the most of the wood-fired oven, whether it’s with Fremantle octopus, or John Dory fillet served with capers, celeriac and mussels.
Dry-aged Coorong Angus T-bone.
Seasonal gelato and sorbets betray the Italian chef’s roots, but while we’re still in the grips of winter we’re tipping the hot pear tart served with ice-cream as a favourite.
The refreshed space by Luchetti Krelle is understated in its glamour, with brass accents, velvet upholstery and a wall of frosted glass that separates the restaurant from the lobby.
Mode Kitchen & Bar, ground floor, Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, 199 George St, Sydney, NSW, (02) 9250 3160, modekitchenandbar.com.au. Open daily noon-10pm.
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