Eight-seatMatkim opens at Circular Quay on January 3,aiming to be “Firedoor for Korean”,referencing Surry Hills’ acclaimed wood-fuelled fine diner. In late January,the high-end Matkim will be joined by another Korean omakase,12-seatAllta,on the corner of Bridge and Pitt streets,helping to satisfy Sydneysiders’growing appetite for Korean food. Allta will be attached toFunda,which launched in September with DJs and prawn and scallop mousse-stuffed fried seaweed rolls.

The mid-Decemberlaunch ofCaterpillar Club,from the team behind Hubert and Alberto’s Lounge,delivered a spanner-crab cocktail with avocado in a lettuce leaf from chef Isobel Whelan-Little,washed down with a pina colada and live tunes.

The beat goes on in 2024. In late February,Odd Culture Group willopenPleasure Club in Newtown,a 120-person basement bar and live music venue with a 4am licence. Neil Perry is also jumping on the live music push,addingjazz barBobbie’s to his Double Bay fiefdom (Margaret,Next Door,Baker Bleu). Bobbie’s,a collaboration with Australian-born bar tsar Linden Pride,ofNew York’s award-winning Dante,is expected to open on the corner of Bay and Cooper streets in June,along with Perry’s new Asian eatery,Song Bird.

The Sydney CBD will kick up another gear in 2024. Hospitality giant Merivale is opening one of the more intriguing new venues,Good Luck Restaurant Lounge,in early 2024. The Asian-hybrid restaurant,in the landmark Burns Philp&Co building on Bridge Street,is under the food direction of Mike Eggert,the chef behindTotti’s. The moniker references his 2017 pop-up,Good Luck Pinbone,in Kensington. “Pinbone leaned into a mix of Italian and Chinese cuisine,but Good Luck takes more inspiration from Tokyo. Think Totti’s but then add soy,dashi,vinegar with fresh herbs,citrus and chilli,” Eggert says.

In early March,Alejandro Saravia,the chef responsible for hit Melbourne restaurantFarmer’s Daughters,will open 180-seatMorenain Sydney’s GPO building at Martin Place,once home toIntermezzo. Morena will tap into the Peruvian chef’s Latin American roots,sweeping everywhere from Cuba and Brazil to Peru.

Sometime around May,we’re expecting therelaunch of Surry Hills’White Horse Hotel. The glammed-up Crown Street landmark will have WA chef Jed Gerrard leading in the kitchen (he’s also culinary director at acclaimed Margaret River fine-diner Wills Domain),while sommelier James Audus will steer the wine list and Micheal Chiem will helm the bar.

It’s a formidable team:Audus is co-owner ofByron Bay’s Bar Heather,recent winner of theGood Food Guide’s New Regional Restaurant of the Year,and Chiem’s CBD cocktail destinationPS40 received the Guide’s Bar of the Year gong. Expect a public bar and restaurant on the ground floor,and a cocktail bar on level one. “Our brief for the venue is simple – a pub we would all like to go to,” says White Horse general manager Craig Hemmings.

Sneaking in before the end of 2023 isArchie’s Bar,a summer pop-up from mothershipManly Pavilion. “Archie’s is downstairs on the West Esplanade Wharf,under the archways between Manly Pavilion and the aquarium,” says an Archie’s spokesman. “We’re serving Italian-style small plates:anchovy toast;arrosticini (lamb-neck skewers with salsa verde);crab toast;gelato and sorbets.” The drinks menu includes a classic spritz and mini martinis,perfect for quenching your thirst after completing the coastal walk from The Spit to Manly. It’s open noon to 8pm daily from December 21 until early February.

In August,hospitality veteran Rob Domjen and publican-restaurateur Ben May snapped up theReef Restaurant and Cove Cafe,a waterside jewel in the coastal town of Terrigal,north of Sydney. The master plan is to transform the multistorey site into theTerrigal Pavilion with a major revamp in 2024. Meanwhile,PavilionPop-up will run through summer,offering a taste of what’s to come. “We’ve given it a lick of paint,put in some new furniture,” Domjen says. The kiosk will open at 7am,with the doors opening on different levels throughout the day. They’ve cranked up the pizza oven and will also dish up a coastal staple,beer-battered fish and chips.

It is not Domjen and May’s only summer project. In mid-January,they’ll unveil the fruits of a $7 million renovation of the Barrenjoey Boatshed. The old boatshed,a Palm Beach landmark since 1947,has undergone a $7 million rebuild “from the water up” and will reopen asThe Joey. May and Domjen deliberately steered away from a decorative beach “vibe” with its interior design. “It’s still coastal but more refined and grown-up,” May says. Expect custom tables,cork ceilings,leather banquettes,and mid-century-style chairs.