SYDNEY MORNING HERALD - GOOD FOOD (SCOTT BOLLES)
Theatre is the secret ingredient
Sydney playwright-director Wendy Beckett is juggling two major openings. Next month she pulls the curtain up on her production of Claudel at the Sydney Opera House, while this week her reimagining of the Darling Mills restaurant in Glebe opens its doors.
The reborn venue is a coproduction with chef Jeff Schroeter, who has allowed his business partner to take top billing. The restaurant is called Beckett's.
And what happens when an acclaimed theatre director and a chef get their hands on one of the inner-west's most iconic restaurant sites? They call in the set designers, of course. The former Darling Mills restaurant certainly has plenty of theatre. Beckett's fabrics and muted tones are designed for it to shine best at night, Schroeter says. There is even a baby grand piano.
He might not have his name above the door, but the former Bistro Moncur chef is setting the food direction, which takes mid-century Manhattan as inspiration with a little Parisian brasserie thrown in. The menu nods to Sydney's cuisine of the moment, French, with Schroeter stressing he'll add a few Italian and even German touches.
His vanilla lobster is on the wellscripted opening menu, as is wagyu rump with pommes dauphinoise, and Glacier 51 toothfish cheeks with mussel and clam chowder sauce.
Open dinner Wed-Sun, 134A Glebe Point Road, Glebe, 02 9566 2167.
Wendy Beckett and Jeff Schroeter.
