Melbourne vs Sydney - What makes a ‘Sydney’ restaurant?

Coogee Pavilion
Image Via Concrete Playground

Melbourne vs Sydney

What makes a ‘Sydney’ restaurant?

In the course of our work, we have noticed that there are some venues that just say ‘Sydney’.  We also know that over the years, Sydney restaurateurs haven’t lit up the world in Melbourne (and vice versa, we might add). All of which got us thinking about why this is so: What is it about the market that creates a ‘Sydney’ venue?

Before we begin, this article is not (for those of you familiar with the cult Japanese cooking show ‘Iron Chef’) a Kitchen Stadium battle to answer the question of  ‘Whose cuisine will reign supreme?’  It’s about defining a ‘Sydney’ F&B ethos and what sets that apart from Melbourne.

Tetsuyas
Image Via The Worlds 50 Best

In much the same way as a region’s property prices are influenced by the most expensive suburbs, restaurateurs throughout the Sydney metropolitan area have to base their establishments on the significant hospitality offer in the core. While most ‘Sydney’ restaurants are neither hatted nor corporate, what sets ‘Sydney’ apart from ‘Melbourne’ is that the market has had the standards set by two very successful hospitality groups, the density of hatted restaurants and high income earners in combination with the demographics particular to Sydney.  This conclusion also holds true with pubs and clubs where operators we have worked with want to match ‘Sydney’ benchmarks for their venues.

Matt Preston has observed that while Sydney has some of Australia’s swankiest venues, it is also the home of some of the priciest. 

While Sydney prices are indeed acknowledged to be high, these higher prices are not simply a function of rent or the result of gouging, but demand.  It’s not that the average Sydneysider is flashier or more pretentious than elsewhere, but there is significant demand for higher end dining operations whose standards are set by international benchmarks. 

Bennelong Restaurant
Image Via Sydney Opera House

This situation, Preston surmises, is due to the influx of tourist dollars and corporate entertaining.  We concur.  Corporate entertaining is a significant source of revenue for high-end hospitality and Sydney has Australia’s largest collection of powerhouse finance and consulting firms.  In turn, these draw business travellers from around Australia and around the world.  Independent, overseas tourists with high disposable incomes are also more likely to land and spend in Sydney as the Opera House and Harbour Bridge are iconic and Instagramable. 

Furthermore, prices and standards are sustainable by higher density of high incomes.  In the Sydney CBD, there are over 120,000 workers whose annual wage exceeds $130,000.  In Melbourne, there are less than half that total.

As a result, the benchmark venues of Sydney’s dining scene cater to a large customer base that has significant spending power and wants to enjoy F&B with produce and surroundings that reflect their elevated income status. 

The Establishment
Image Via The F

It would be wrong to draw the conclusion that Melbourne does not have this type of demand.  However, this ‘Sydney’ consumer is not nearly as numerous in the South and thus does not have the same influence over the culinary and design choices made by restaurateurs.  Melbourne’s overall F&B scene is arguably influenced by an all-day café culture.  Again, it’s not that Sydney does not have this type of venue, but that the standards, choices and direction do not come from this type of venue.

Besides the unique demand structure, what is notable about the supply of Sydney dining is the density of the top-rated venues.  Of the 68 Sydney restaurants receiving a Hat in the latest Good Food Guide, with very few exceptions, all are within 12km from the Pitt Street Mall, with the vast majority within 5km.  No other capital city comes close to this density of Hats.  We want to emphasise that it’s not the Hats themselves, but the critical mass of good restaurants – that strive for national and international recognition – in a condensed precinct as being one of the key drivers of the F&B in Sydney and which sets it apart from Melbourne and the rest of Australia.

It’s not just the overall demand and supply that creates distinct aspects to dining in Sydney but those macro aspects in combination with the key hospitality operators that creates a dining environment unique to NSW capital.

Quay
Image Via Qantas

Merivale is one of two companies that set the standard for Sydney venues.  No other operator in Australia is as dominant in a major city as Merivale is in Sydney. To give you an idea about their influence in the Harbour City, Merivale is responsible for 15% of the Hatted restaurants (10) in metro Sydney.  With over 70 brands and venues, we would argue that Merivale is the largest non-fast food F&B operator, by revenue, in Sydney.  Their operations are all in Sydney because that’s where they live and it’s what they know best.

Starting with The Establishment in 2000, Merivale perfected the concept of having several different venues and offerings in one building.  The Ivy and Coogee Pavilion are two other very successful Merivale conglomerate ventures, while outlets such as The Colloroy, Hotel CBD and The Newport offer large contemporary buildings with different sections offering distinct personas of hospitality.  These have led the way for other competitors such as the Bondi Pavilion and clubs such as Harbord Diggers and Bankstown Sports Club to offer multiple venues delivering multiple offers to multiple customer bases.

Harbord Diggers: As part of their $160 million redevelopment, the club brought in Giovanni Pilu and other Sydney area operators to create a ‘Sydney’ experience in the Northern Beaches

Image Via Covered Hub

Nu Bambu: As Terry Durack noted in his review, “Clubs are changing and Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL is changing with them.” Nu Bambu is bringing ‘Sydney’ to the west.

Image Via Paul Kelly Design

The other influential group in Sydney dining is the Fink Group.  They are responsible for three out of Gourmet Traveller’s Top 50 Restaurants in Australia, an achievement they share with Merivale. It’s worth emphasising this point:  Two operators run 12% of the best restaurants in Australia, all of which are in the core of Sydney.  

Fink, like Merivale, thinks and acts Big.  Quay, their flagship venue, is a 900 square metre restaurant that regularly ranks as one of the best in Australia and the world.  Fink closed it down for a complete rebuild and refurbishment at a cost reputed to be around $4 million.  Only in Sydney would a restaurateur spend that much on a revamp of a property – and in the process reduce the number of seats by 20%.

Mimi’s
Image Via Broadsheet

Every good restaurateur knows that they need to tailor their F&B to the clientele specific to their catchment in concert with the quality and composition of the competition and the resulting expectations of diners. Ultimately, a ‘Sydney’ restaurant is driven by smart operators knowing their market and delivering what it wants.

Quay Quarter Tower
Image Via 3XN

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Cover Image: Nick & Nora’s Melbourne
Image via Delicious