Big changes are ahead for one of Sydney’s most iconic fine dining restaurants, Aria.
Since closing its doors during the early spaces of Australia’s lockdown we’ve been eagerly awaiting the reopening of Aria. The news of this iconic fine dining restaurant’s reopening came this week, with the venue swinging open its doors once again to diners from July 14th. In fact, this year marks the restaurant’s 20th anniversary – a big milestone for one of Sydney’s premium fine-dining restaurants.
But change is on the horizon for Aria. While the restaurant reopens in its usual form at this stage, the venue is set to evolve with news that part of the Aria restaurant will transform into a relaxed wine bar in late 2020.
It’s big news for such an institutional dining room and comes in response to the changing climate all hospitality venues are facing in the months ahead. Aria’s new wine bar is expected to offer one of Australia’s largest and most awarded wine lists in Australia, with over 80 wines by the glass and more than 1,700 bottles.
For co-owner Matt Moran, the break has given his team time to evolve the offering at Aria to better suit current dining conditions. “With over 30% of our guests traditionally from overseas, we knew that in order to sustain Aria’s future we had to evolve our experience. That’s why we’re looking to launch Aria’s wine bar later on in the year,” tells Moran.
This new wine bar combines that talents of Anna Solomon (co-owner and Solotel’s creative director), Matt Moran, Joel Bickford (Aria head chef) and Alex Kirkwood (Aria head sommelier) – four creative minds that will develop a fresh, laid back experience that still celebrates the pillars of Aria’s 20 years of success; great food, wine, service and Australian produce at its very best.
The bar will sit alongside Aria’s dining experience offering, allowing guests to walk-in and enjoy snacks, cocktails or a glass of wine. Each dish is set to be more casual and approachable, complementing Aria’s more formal dining offering.
But for the next few months expect a familiar Aria offering with a new tasting menu showcasing dishes such as kangaroo with palm heart and macadamia; organic pork jowl with caramelised persimmon and cauliflower; and the Aria soufflé returns with flavours of banana, muscovado and vanilla. Diners can choose from a three or four-course a la carte menu or a tasting menu.
Aria is now open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday. To find out more, click here.