BECKETTS RESTAURANT

Beckett’s opened in early 2021, born from a love of both French cuisine and the theatrical arts. Owner Wendy Beckett, a playwright and theatre director, found inspiration for the restaurant after her time in Paris, where she was directing several successful productions before the pandemic brought her home.

Our chef is the talented Frederic Plat who has been with us since day one and is known for his extraordinary French classics and sauces. Our cocktails are concocted by Samantha Greene to amuse and delight. Our manager Cyril Seguin ensures that French service standards are always upheld.

BECKETT’S EVENTS

In the cellar each month owner Wendy Beckett hosts star actors from both film and theatre who perform a private 25 minute vignette for diners with matched french  wine and a superb menu to suit the occasion.  The cellar walls have portraits of the world’s most famous playwrights giving the space a European feel of arts and fine dining combined . It has become a favourite place for film and theatre producers to introduce new works.  It is also a popular place to hire for private parties by people who love the unique space and atmosphere.

HISTORY OF GLEBE & BECKETT’S BUILDING

In 1837 Glebe was an area of 178 acres deeded by the Crown to St Andrews Presbyterian Chruch as Clergy reserve. The word 'Glebe' means CHURCHLANDS and St Andrews became only one of many Churches to be built in the area.

Abriginal tribes called the area of Glebe :Cadi and Wanne and this land extended from South Head to Long Cove and it commenced from as far away today as Parramatta. Glebe was known for its 'native currants, sweet sarsaparilla, shellfish, edible plants and native flowers all of which were traded by the Aboriginal tribes in the area both to other tribes and to the new European population.

The sandstone building that Beckett's stands on today was originally built in 1857 by designer Edmund Blacket of Sydney University . The orginal building was more of a stone cottage with a small church behind and  that is what we see the remnants of here  today. In the 1970's a Dr Alfred Adey restored and extended the original stone construction. During this restoration the Church directly behind Becketts restaurant burnt down. Dr Adey set about adding to the building from the leftovers he could rescue. These included :burnt bricks which he cleaned up , gothic arched windows, stone pillars, cedar timber framing that survived the fire.

What we see here today is the culmination of Adey’s  decade long efforts . He even excavated  by hand a wine cellar underneath. By the eighties he had created this iconic building . Upstairs he built a hydroponic garden growing his own vegetables and herbs   (some of which are still supplied to Becketts restaurant today from the family farm outside Sydney) 

In 1989  Adey decided to open his building as a restaurant,  he called  it DARLING MILLS and it ran for around 15 years  as an upmarket international dining experience- loved by locals and visited by many from near and far .