After a small hiatus,Bentley Restaurant and Bar is back with a refreshed dining room and new menu.
"We had to replace the old air conditioning system,which meant pulling the ceiling down and closing for a fortnight,"Bentley co-owner and sommelier Nick Hildebrandt says.
"It was a good opportunity to refresh the place at the same time. We never really loved the bar - it was one of those restaurant bars that didn't really have its own identity. So we said'why not spend a bit of money and fix all the other stuff we don't like too?',such as the tabletops and some of the lighting in the dining room."
Pascale Gomes-McNabb,long-time creative partner with Hildebrandt and Bentley chef Brent Savage,has furnished the bar with brass,timber tables and waxed leather banquettes. A striking green artwork now covers the glass balustrade separating bar and dining room,making the sophisticated space more intimate.
"We always want to be leaders and push boundaries,"says Hildebrandt,who also co-owns Monopole,Yellow and Cirrus with Savage."If you're an Italian or Chinese restaurant you don't really have to do that,but if you're a contemporary Australian restaurant you have to keep evolving."
To that end,the new menu will have"defined focus on sourcing interesting and unique ingredients"says Savage who has refreshed the a la carte and tasting menu options with Bentley head chef Aiden Stevens.
New dishes include pickled wagyu tongue with fermented saltbush,muntrie relish and pepperberry ($27),Tasmanian abalone with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and roast chicken mayonnaise ($80),Skull Island prawns with guanciale,koshihikari rice and sea herbs ($34),and watermelon and shiso sorbet with blackberry and Davidson's plum ($22).
"Bentley is the most creative we get to be with food and wine across our four venues,"says Hildebrandt."This is really exciting for us. It's just like opening a new restaurant."
27 O'Connell Street Sydney,02 8214 0505,thebentley.com.au.
Bentley Restaurant and Bar reopens May 8 at 6pm.