The final two House Made Hospitality venues inside Sofitel Sydney Wentworth will open this Friday, rounding out the group’s quadruple-threat precinct.
Delta Rue and Wentworth Bar join Tilda and Bar Tilda, which opened earlier this month.
Each venue offers a unique experience, which the group hopes will appeal to a wider audience.
Delta Rue and Wentworth Bar are located on level five of the historic hotel. “Upstairs is everything level two isn’t,” says Justin Newton, director of House Made Hospitality. “It’s meant to feel big and bustling.” Contrasted with the subtle, sandy hues and jazz tones of downstairs, level five is lush, loud, and vibrant, with foliage, bright colours, and space for DJ decks.
Delta Rue is a 210-seater Vietnamese-French restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. The concept is broad and accessible, because “if it was too niche, it might be hard to fill this this many seats”, says Newton. The team landed on Vietnamese because of the cuisine’s popularity, the freshness of the food, and its ability to transition from breakfast through to dinner.
“[Vietnamese] has the French influence as well, so it allows us to go ‘east meets west’,” says Newton. “The French aspect allows us to bring in desserts and pastries [as well as] French wine and cocktails.”
The name Delta Rue also combines the two influences, referencing the Mekong Delta and the French word for ‘street’.
Cocktails stick to the French-Vietnamese brief and include a French martini, a French 75 (featuring Pommery Champagne, Unico Zelo pomelo vermouth, pear eau de vie, and finger lime), and a Delta Daiquiri (white rum, cane spirit, honey liqueur, holy basil, and lime).
Head Chef Phot Arnupapdecha (Madame Hanoi, Orana) and Precinct Executive Chef Elliot Pinn (ex-group executive chef of House Made Hospitality’s Lana, Grana, and Promenade Bondi Beach) developed the menu.
A roaming bánh mì trolley offers bite-sized sandwiches for sharing, while small plates include bánh khọt (crisp rice cakes with pork, ginger shallot, and garlic chives) and bánh kẹo, a turmeric crêpe filled with tofu, chicken, pork, or prawns, cut at the table with scissors.
Share dishes include include pipis in lemongrass sate, Hanoi-style roasted John Dory, roasted duck legs, and salads such as crab and green mango and banana blossom. Desserts cover a crème caramel made with Makrut lime and lemongrass and mille-feuille with black sesame cream, whipped coconut, and pineapple ice cream.
Alongside Delta Rue sits Wentworth Bar, a sweeping terrace bar that looks up the impressive, curving side of the hotel.
“It’s the kind of bar you’d seek out in any major city – DJ playing, great cocktails, and the buzz of a city rooftop bar spread across a spacious 495 square metre all-weather outdoor terrace,” says House Made Hospitality Director Jason Williams.
Wentworth Bar’s cocktail menu is vibrant and vast and boasts 45 different types of agave spirits.
Cocktails like the Slipper-y When Wet (Los Arcos tequila, Chell-Oh! Yuzucello, Midori melon, lime, and mint); I’m a Business, Man (Johnnie Walker Black whisky, Talisker single malt, macadamia liqueur, coconut, lemon); and the Fifth Floor Fizz (Tanqueray gin, Rhubi Mistelle, green tea, green apple cordial, and prosecco) hint at the venue’s cheeky atmosphere.
Thanks to design by Fender Katsalidis, the aesthetic is bright and airy, with curving, organic table shapes found under a glass and copper canopy.
“Our design for Wentworth Bar was all about creating an organic flow, says Fender Katsalidis’ Karen Morris. “We wanted guests to step off the streets and into a space that surprises—a luxurious green escape amidst the cityscape.”
Delta Rue and Wentworth Bar complete House Made’s food and beverage portfolio at the hotel.
Wentworth Bar opens on 25 October and will operate Tuesday to Saturday from midday until 10pm.
Delta Rue also opens on the 25th and will open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner and for lunch on Sunday.
Images: Steven Woodburn
