Woodcut

Woodcut is a sprawling 260-seat restaurant by Sunny and Ross Lusted, the couple behind lauded CBD fine diner, The Bridge Room. Unlike their former restaurants, the menu at Woodcut is immense, and choosing from it is no easy feat.

Rather than being split into entrées, mains and desserts, the menu instead highlights the cooking methods used in each of the four open kitchens stationed around the huge space (steam, fire, smoke and ice). These kitchens offer a theatrical experience for diners no matter where they sit, as well as creating de facto dining areas that make the vast space on the ground floor of Crown Sydney seem intimate.

From the steam kitchen, you might find pipis cooked in kettles, flavoured with vadouvan (an Indian curry blend) and served with roasted chickpeas and chickpea leaves. Smoky Wagyu skewers are cooked over the intense heat of a robata grill. Piles of caviar, trout roe and raw seafood dishes are served from the seafood kitchen. And fire comes courtesy of a wood grill, charring whole fish and large format steaks. The desserts here riff on the seasons – think quenelles of cherry sorbet atop a meringue wreathed in the last of the summer’s cherries.

The lengthy drinks menu is split into chapters. It all starts with cocktails, beers and non-alcoholic options, followed by wines offered via the Coravin system, highlighted wine producers and by-the-bottle drops, and finishes with spirits.

Many of the restaurant’s design elements echo the Lusteds’ international travels. The entrance’s high, straight walls evoke the sheer-sided canyons of Utah. The shining steam kettles have been custom-made and imported from Vancouver, Canada. And the geometric black blocked ceiling tiles are inspired by the Giant’s Causeway geological formations in Northern Ireland.

Starting Sunday June 11, Woodcut will serve a New York-inspired brunch featuring multiple shared courses, Woodcut takes on classic brunch dishes, and a roving champagne trolley. Bookings are essential.