North Sydney dining scene set for reboot with arrival of 120-seater from the team behind Loulou Bistro and Charles Grand Brasserie

The restaurant scene in North Sydney is set for a boost with the arrival of Poetica, a 120-seat bar and grill due to open on Friday, September 1 opposite the forthcoming Victoria Cross metro station.

It’s the latest venue by Etymon Projects, the hospitality group behind hatted restaurants The Charles Grand Brasserie and Loulou Bistro, and follows the success of Applejack’s restaurant RAFI, which opened on nearby Mount Street last October.

A custom wood-burning hearth will form the foundation of the 15-metre-long open kitchen, where head chef Connor Hartley-Simpson (former head chef at two-Michelin-starred Swedish restaurant Gastrologik) will create everything from smoke trap eel with braised leeks and nori to Sydney rock oysters torched with a flambadou (a cone-shaped grill tool), and flavoured with 𝄒nduja and guindilla pepper.

The menu, which is divided by methods of preparation and cooking (“charcoal”, “wood” and “dry-aged”), will also feature a selection of premium steaks dry-aged on site, including whole sirloins, T-bones and tomahawks.

“In the kitchen we’re focusing on using incredible local produce,” says Hartley-Simpson, “cooking with either charcoal or fire where it works, pickling and fermenting to play around with flavours, and really letting the produce be the hero.”

Culinary director Sebastien Lutaud says the team initially passed on the site during a COVID-era inspection, but their interest was piqued when return-to-office mandates saw the streets fill with corporate workers.

“I think with the metro line opening next year, it will change how North Sydney is seen,” Lutaud says.

“We’re excited for Poetica to join North Sydney’s growing dining scene.”

The metro station below Miller Street, due to be completed next year, is predicted to transform North Sydney by facilitating the travel of thousands of commuters every hour via driverless trains.

A 42-storey office tower is being built above the station, while North Sydney Council approved a 51-storey office tower on nearby Walker Street earlier this year. The latter is expected to open with a providore, bakery, LA-inspired all-day diner and Japanese eatery in 2025.

Poetica was created with the expanding corporate sector in mind, Lutaud says.

“The concept for Poetica was to create a bar and grill that reflects the refined and relaxed style of contemporary Sydney dining,” he says.

“[It will have] a welcoming vibe that works as well for entertaining clients over lunch as a dinner with friends or a drink after work.”

The restaurant features a 700-bottle wine wall, floor-to-ceiling glass windows and four outdoor dining terraces. The wine list runs to about 450 entries, including hard-to-find back vintages from the likes of Moss Wood and Craggy Range, some dating back to 1987.

The adjoining 40-seater bar will offer 100-odd Australian spirits, craft beers and 12 cocktails, and a menu of bar snacks.

Reservations are now open.

The restaurant will open Tue-Sat noon-3pm, 5pm-late; bar open Tue-Sat noon-late from September 1.

Mezzanine level, 1 Denison Street, North Sydney, poetica.sydney