Beside the main Phillip Street entrance to Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, dark doors swing open to reveal the plush interiors of Bar Tilda.
The bar is one of four venues that Sydney-based group House Made Hospitality will launch in the hotel by the end of this month.
Sofitel Sydney Wentworth has a unique history. It’s one of Australia’s first five-star hotels that was originally owned and operated by Qantas.
Since opening, it has hosted popes, royalty, and heads of state, including Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Thatcher, and even Vladimir Putin.
The hotel has changed hands a number of times over the years, slowly becoming outdated. When it was purchased in 2021, the owners decided to give it an new lease on life, engaging House Made Hospitality to update the four food and beverage offerings in the building with the help of design firm Fender Katsalidis.
The new owners wanted to create a luxe, chandelier-laden concept with mirrors and marble that would rival upmarket international hotels. But House Made had other plans.
“We said, ‘Look, Australians’ sense of luxury is a bit different … it’s more laidback’,” says House Made Director Justin Newton. “So we built the restaurant to look like someone’s lounge room as opposed to anything too fancy.”
Sand-coloured pavers cover the floors of Bar Tilda, and burgundy tiles line walls and plinths. A deep burgundy ceiling pairs with sections of carpet, warm pendant lights, and custom booth seating, creating an overall sense of intimate comfort in “homage to old-school hotel bars”.
The goal of the design was to remove the barriers locals have when it comes to visiting hotel bars, transferring the experience from “occasional”, to approachable.
Newton says a significant aim of the bar and restaurant is to draw a diverse crowd. “We’re hoping hotel guests will come in here for a drink, but also because of the street presence, that we also get corporates through,” he says.
Bar Tilda will feature a live jazz band three or four nights a week, alongside an impressive list of 100 Australian whiskies, a martini trolley with Australian spirits, and drinks that pay tribute to pivotal 1960s moments in Australia.
Cocktails include Ringo Loves a Blueberry, which comprises milk-washed Tanqueray No. Ten Gin, blueberry liqueur, blueberry shrub, lavender, vermouth, lemon, frosted lemon sherbet, and menthol pepper (which pays homage to The Beatles’ 1964 tour).
The Presidential Visit is a stirred-down Old Fashioned with Michter’s Bourbon, Lagavulin Single Malt, root beer bitters, tonka bean, and orange liqueur and pays tribute to US President Lyndon B Johnson’s 1966 visit to Sydney.
The Australian-style offering is part of the larger concept for the adjoining restaurant and bar. Drawing on the history of the building as a place for Qantas to bring international travellers, Newton says the Australian concept harked back to the original intent of the hotel.
“We always make sure the concepts tie into the local area or the building,” says Newton. “We start from there and then we build it out.”
Each element – from the name, which is a contemporary abbreviation of Banjo Paterson’s Waltzing Matilda – to the colour palette of ochre, blue and sandy beige draws on aspects of Australian culture.
“We don’t know many Australian restaurants that are trying not to be too kitsch with the concept – like there’s no there’s no cans of VB and there’s no Crocodile Dundee on the wall,” says Newton.
Tilda restaurant adjoins the bar, an intentional move from the owners.
“The new owners wanted to make sure the restaurant and bar was connected to the lobby,” says Newton. “They’d seen that activation happen overseas and they wanted guests who were checking in to hear the clinking of glasses and smell steak cooking over coals.”
Although the restaurant is located in the lobby, the space is partitioned with curtains, making it feel cosy and private.
So as not to compete with “Steak Street” (Rockpool Bar & Grill, Chophouse, Alfie’s, Restaurant Hubert, and The Meat & Wine Co line the street directly behind the hotel), Tilda is focussing on grilled seafood.
Under Precinct Executive Chef Elliott Pinn (ex-group executive chef of House Made Hospitality venues including Lana, Grana, and Promenade Bondi Beach), Head Chef Nathanael Merchant (ex-Bentley) has established a menu inspired by retro Australian classics.
Starters include scallops with lemon myrtle, tamarind, and coconut as well as crab toast with seaweed butter, avocado, and caviar. Mains are seafood-heavy, featuring line-caught ruby snapper fillet, Murray cod, and spaghettini with pippies, pancetta, and white wine.
There will be a rotating selection of cakes available each day, says Justin, “so there might be an Australian sponge cake or a Pavlova”.
The kitchen is raised above the dining area, meaning it is visible from the entire restaurant and the lobby itself. “The owners wanted to feel the ambience and intensity of a restaurant, and the kitchen is the heart of the restaurant. So even when you check in, you can see the chefs working,” says Newton.
The wine list is 95 per cent Australian, with a few big national wines and Champagnes.
Subtle Australian elements inform the décor and menu of the restaurant, which sticks to a “burnt and washed” colour palette informed by the outback.
The coasters are big enough for two drinks (Newton cites the problem of patrons generally having both water and wine or a cocktail at dinner), the shape of which was determined by the outline of a rock; and small artworks in the bathrooms are based on drawings of flora and fauna from the State Library.
In the coming months, House Made Hospitality will open two more venues on level five of the hotel, Delta Rue and Wentworth Bar.
Tilda and Bar Tilda open on Wednesday 9 October.
Monday – Tuesday | 7am – 10pm (lunch from 11.30am)
Wednesday – Friday | 7am – 11pm (lunch from 11.30am)
Saturday | 5.30 – 11pm
Sunday | 5.30 – 10pm
