One of Australia’s most awarded restaurant, Quay, reopens its doors to an inspired new design and progressive tasting menu.
The highly regarded restaurant from the Fink Group with Executive Chef Peter Gilmore at the helm, paused for service on in April to undergo a major redesign: taking the dining room, kitchen and guest experience to the next level.
The reinvention, reportedly costing AU$4 million, has given the Fink Group and Peter Gilmore an opportunity to take a new look at fine dining. “People’s expectations around fine dining are often minding your Ps and Qs, we want to boldly move into uncharted territory in Australian fine dining by thinking outside the box and considering the dining experience as a sum of its parts,” says John Fink.
Quay reopens with a completely transformed dining room, state of the art kitchen and menu format which includes changes to the guest experience. The interior was conceived as an organic space reflective of Peter Gilmore’s nature-inspired cuisine with added glamour embracing the restaurant’s location in the dress circle of Sydney Harbour. Working with the brief “the biggest little restaurant in Australia”, Quay’s 100 seat dining room has been reduced to 80 seats across a number of small, intimate dining spaces. Whilst the upper and lower tower still hold 270º views sweeping the harbour, the dining room has been reoriented to open up to the Harbour Bridge, whilst still offering spectacular views of the Opera House.
As for the food, Gilmore has created a menu that is a progression of rare and beautiful ingredients where texture, flavour and harmony is paramount. The signature ten-course tasting menu will guide the diner through his new dishes. Additionally, a six-course menu with a choice of main will be available Sunday to Thursday for dinner, and Friday to Sunday for lunch.
Whilst Quay’s menu has had endless reinvention over the years, the renovation has given Chef Gilmore the opportunity to reinvent his food and start again. “Wiping the slate clean was a huge challenge, but ultimately very rewarding. It gave me the opportunity to revaluate everything from the smallest detail up,” says Gilmore. Continually inspired by nature, the creative process for chef Gilmore began with working closely alongside the farmers, fishermen, producers and artisans who cultivate bespoke produce exclusively for Quay. From there launched a long journey of testing and refinement, imagination and flashes of inspiration.
From July 19, Quay will open for dinner, seven nights a week from 6pm. Lunch will open from August 3, Friday through to Sunday from 12pm – 2pm.
