So many new restaurants opening this weekend

Aalia, CBD

We’re big fans of co-owner Ibby Moubadder’s Nour, Henrietta and Lilymu, and now also his new Middle Eastern restaurant Aalia. It opened within Harry Seidler’s iconic MLC Centre, now called 25 Martin Place (which underwent a $170 million transformation) and there’s a couple of things that caught our attention. Firstly, Aalia is adding more nuance to Martin Place’s food scene and without sounding superficial, it’s one of the prettiest dining rooms to open this year. We’re particularly enamoured by its concave concrete patterns and curvaceous timber ceiling and bar that mimic Seidler’s architecture, and his joyful “mushroom” building that Aalia looks onto. It’s also ambitious.

Executive chef Paul Farag (executive chef at Nour, ex-Fish Butchery and Monopole) is bringing dishes, techniques and ingredients from lesser-known regions of the Middle East and North Africa, which he found by studying cookbooks dating back to the 10th century. There’s plenty of tasty things to order but we reckon the show stoppers are the lamb shawarma; khorasan pita; almond-crust John Dory with tarator and chilli; and the banger entree, the sesame leaf with aged rice, cumin and sea urchin. Plus, extra love goes to Eleonore Wulf’s wine list, that includes bottles from Syria, Jordan and Morocco.

Bay Nine Omakase, The Rocks

It’s safe to say Sydney’s omakase scene is booming. Attribute it to our ongoing love affair with Japanese cuisine, or just our inability to travel there for nearly three years, but our omakase options continue to grow. A new, impressive entrant on the scene is Bay Nine Omakase in The Rocks. The surrounds here are a little grander than many of the more stripped-back omakase eateries you’ll find across Sydney; it’s in a cosy sandstone dining room in the historic waterfront Campbell’s Stores, built in the 19th century. But at its core, Bay Nine’s dining playbook is the same: a series of courses crafted using the best available produce of the day, theatrically prepared and presented by the chefs right in front of you. While the thing here is pristine seafood – expect an influx of nigiri and sashimi with fresh wasabi, as well as meaty toothfish and delicate urchin – you’re also likely to get absurdly tender Wagyu, silky chawanmushi (savoury egg custard) and stellar tempura. It’s all best accompanied by pure, polished sake, which comes by the bottle, the glass or in a tasting flight.

Da Orazio, Bondi Beach

In March, Orazio D’Elia came full-circle, returning to the pretty Bondi spot where he cemented his reputation as one of the city’s best chefs. He was the culinary star of Maurice Terzini’s bustling Italian joint, Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta, which closed in 2018.

Ele by Federico and Karl, Pyrmont

You won’t want to get too comfortable when you take your seat at Ele by Federico and Karl. While co-chefs Federico Zanellato (Lumi, Lode) and Karl Firla (ex-Oscillate Wildly) traverse fairly traditional routes at their CBD Italian diner Restaurant Leo, at Ele they’re breaking a few more rules. Guests shift tables between courses during an eight-course degustation, which might include dishes such as a Wagyu tartare-topped sourdough crumpet and dry-aged Murray cod with coastal greens.

And the room itself shifts and evolves – earth, air, fire and water are showcased in a series of video loops onto screens that surround diners, while the music is specifically designed to enhance the dining experience. The duo had big shoes to fill in taking over the former Momofuku Seiobo space in The Star – and they’ve done a remarkable job upending any expectations to deliver something impossible to compare to its predecessor, let alone anything else in town.

Jane, Surry Hills

When owner-chef Tristan Rosier opened Arthur in Surry Hills in 2019, he created a new kind of neighbourhood eatery that was both wallet-friendly and homey, but still thoroughly in step with Sydney’s fine-dining milieu. This year, he followed it up with Jane, a ’70s-inspired bistro just three blocks away, with the same focus on all-Aussie ingredients but a more casual energy. You could just as easily walk in for cocktails and snacks (think wild boar ‘nduja cigars, and roo tartare with bush tomato chutney and shoestring fries) at the marble bar, or slink into one of the plush booths for a full multi-course meal. The place is also named after – and pays tribute to – Rosier’s late grandmother, Jane Merton. Not only did her Southern Highlands home inspire the handsome fit-out, the pink cake she made for Rosier when he was growing up is the signature dessert here. And the soundtrack to it all? Playlists featuring “nothing later than the ’70s”, spinning through jazz, funk and David Bowie hits.

Loulou Bistro, Milsons Point

The most popular dish at Loulou is a bit of a surprise – that is, until you taste it: a caviar-encrusted John Dory drowned in champagne and scallop sauce. It’s a rich, comforting joy to eat, and testament to head chef Billy Hannigan’s (ex-Bistro Guillaume, The Ledbury in London) sophisticated touch. Other dishes are well-executed French classics: steak frites (with truly excellent fries), a delicately hand-cut steak tartare, and bright, fluffy pommes dauphine. It’s not light food, nor food you want to eat every day. But it’s absolutely food for eating tucked away in a booth in an elegant, dimly lit dining room for a special occasion. Preferably with a Martini at hand, chased with a smooth burgundy wine chosen by cracking sommelier Shun Eto.

Ronnie J. Willis is a staff reporter for The Navigator.