Head chef buys Yellow from Bentley Restaurant Group

The Bentley Restaurant group has sold its Potts Point vegan fine diner Yellow to Head Chef Sander Nooij and his business partner Mark Hanover.

Over his five years at the restaurant, Nooij has focussed on fermentation and sourcing vegetables from small suppliers. Now the head chef will act as chef-owner of the operation.

Bentley Co-Owners Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt opened Yellow in 2013 as a traditional French bistro before transitioning it to vegetarian in 2016. Later that year, they updated the menu to be entirely plant-based.

“By treating vegetables with the same consideration as protein we hope to show that vegetarian dishes are just as delicious as any other menu item,” Savage said when they first implemented the change.

The team has shown just that, with repeat customers – vegans and omnivores alike – returning for Yellow’s share-style a la carte menu and $115 six-course degustation.

Current seasonal dishes include the lovage broth with long pepper; buckwheat tortillas with mushrooms and parsley; braised fennel with seaweed tapenade and anise broth; and BBQ beetroot with pepper sauce, pedro ximenez, radicchio and black rice.

A smoked almond ‘cheese’ with quinoa cracker and pickled raisin graces the dessert menu, alongside a dish of apricot, cardamom and pistachio.

Yellow will open under the operation of its new owners this Thursday.