After a four year hiatus, Sydney institution The Cut Bar & Grill will today reopen its doors.
Hunter Street Hospitality, the group behind Saké Restaurant & Bar, Rockpool Bar & Grill, Bar Patrón, and Spice Temple, quietly closed the restaurant’s doors in 2020 as Covid struck.
But now the group – which formerly fell under the Rockpool banner before it split in two in 2021 – has reopened the restaurant in its original underground location in The Rocks. Alongside the restaurant’s historic sandstone and timber foundations, patrons will also see the revival of The Cut’s signature slow-cooked prime rib.
Although beloved aspects are returning, not everything will be the same. The interiors have been refreshed, along with the menu. Leading the menu’s reinvention are Executive Chefs Santiago Aristizabal (Rockpool Bar & Grill), Shimpei Hatanaka (Saké Restaurant and Bar), and Andy Evans (Spice Temple). Johnny Murphy from Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne has been appointed head chef.
The menu features responsibly sourced, sustainable beef, pork, and lamb, cooked over a woodfire grill. Snacks include roast beef surf and turf with beef fat potatoes and caviar, devilled eggs, and roasted scallops with kombu butter. Among the mains are a john dory with romesco, lamb cutlets from Milly Hill, a decadent half Easter Rock lobster with herb butter, and the Westholme Wagyu 800g rib eye.
“This menu focuses on beautiful New York steakhouse classics, featuring top-quality local ingredients and cooked over a wood fire with some of the best beef in Australia. I am so excited to see The Cut’s signature prime rib back on the menu and we can’t wait to welcome old and new customers back to this special restaurant,” says Executive Chef Santiago Aristizabal.
The restaurant will draw on a touch of nostalgia in the form of The Cut’s “timeless” cocktails, including The Cut Gibson martini; the Pavlova 2.0, with vodka, vanilla chantilly, and passionfruit; and the Mango N’5 with Pisco, mango, and Makrut lime.
Hunter Street Hospitality hopes the reopening of The Cut will also mark the comeback of the rocks; the group plans to open The Cloakroom, a nearby 15 seat bar in the coming months. While timing is difficult amid economic woes and low numbers of patrons in venues, Hunter Street Hospitality CEO Frank Tucker appears unfazed.
“The Rocks is part of the DNA of Hunter St Hospitality, this is our home, and investing in our premium venues in the area is also future proofing the whole destination. We can’t wait to welcome people back into the doors of The Cut and showcase how we have elevated it,” says Tucker.
The Cut Bar & Grill will be open for lunch Monday to Friday and for dinner all week.
