Behind the sprawling sandstone Edwardian Baroque building in Sydney’s CBD lies the hotly anticipated five-star Capella Sydney. Complete with a marble foyer, 192 guestrooms, and upper-level wellness spaces including an indoor pool and Auriga Spa, the luxury hotel is one of the year’s most exciting hotel openings.
And perhaps most exciting of all is Capella’s ground floor restaurant, Brasserie 1930. It’s the newest venture from Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt of The Bentley Restaurant Group, who are also behind Sydney stalwarts such as Monopole, Yellow and the eponymous Bentley Restaurant & Bar.
Beef tartar with mustard, caper, eschalot and rye crisp;
(Photo: Kris Paulsen)The restaurant is named after the year the Young Street shoulder of the building it occupies was built. While it honours its historic bones with restored architectural features and Art Deco details, it also promises to deliver the cutting-edge, innovative dining experience for which The Bentley Group is known.
Drawing on methods like curing, smoking, fermenting, preserving and pickling, Savage’s menu promises to go beyond the traditional brasserie trio of oysters, soup and choucroute.
“The menu is our take on an Australian brasserie,” says Savage in a statement.
Brent Savage (left) and Nick Hildebrandt (right) at Brasserie 1930;
(Photo: Kris Paulsen)Yes, there are oysters – Sydney Rock from Merimbula and Pacific from Tasmania – but there are also more inventive appetisers like the raw Paradise prawn with fermented chilli mayonnaise. And it wouldn’t be a new Sydney opening without caviar, of which there are two to choose from.
Starters consist of Flinders Island scallops with brown butter and finger lime; spanner crab alla chitarra with sea urchin sauce; and beef tartare with rye crisp. As for mains, much is cooked on the theatrical charcoal grill seen from the dining room into the open kitchen – think coal-roasted Murray cod with pepperberry butter, lobster with finger lime and tarragon, whole roasted duck and three cuts of steak.
Bone-in sirloin and fries;
(Photo: Kris Paulsen)The desserts, however, are more traditionally French; there’s a dark chocolate mille feuille with passionfruit sorbet and vanilla crémeux, and a white chocolate custard with preserved cherries.
Nick Hildebrandt delivers an interesting and exhaustive wine program to match the restaurant’s grandeur. The wine list champions Australian and European labels, showcasing 400 international producers as well as a rotating by-the-glass list from the Bentley Wine Vault.
Chocolate mille fueille;
(Photo: Kris Paulsen)The news comes hot on the heels of other hotels snapping up top Australian culinary talent, too.
Mark Best and Michael Greenlaw are set to open Atria in the lavish Ritz-Carlton Melbourne later this month. Recently, we saw Shannon Martinez take over the food program at Ovolo Woolloomooloo’s Alibi, James Viles appointed as culinary director at Park Hyatt in The Rocks and chef Rhys Connell take charge at the newly reopened and revamped The Gantry at Pier One Sydney Harbour. Plus, former ACME chef Mitch Orr is now behind the pass at Ace Hotel Sydney’s rooftop restaurant, Kiln.
There’s no doubt hotel dining is hot at the moment – and Brasserie 1930 is one of the many set out to impress more than hotel guests.
Brasserie 1930 is slated to open on Wednesday 15 March. Reservations are now open via the website.
capellahotels.com/en/capella-sydney/dining
