Featuring: Lorraine’s Bistro, Robin Hood Hotel…

I USED to live around the corner from The Robin Hood Hotel in Waverley and have driven past its Art Deco exterior countless times. But the grand old dame of Charing Cross has had a facelift a Hollywood superstar would envy because there is no downside. The multi-million dollar renovation was in the works for five years and owner Daniel Whitten has done his family proud.
There has been a pub on the site since the mid-19th century and the current building was built by Tooth & Co in 1938. Whitten’s grandmother, Lorraine Havin, was one of the first female licensees in NSW and took over the reins in 1979. She would have a hard time recognising The Hood, as locals call the pub, after its recent reincarnation.
The extensive project split the hotel into two main parts – the public bar downstairs and an upscale European bistro-style restaurant and events space upstairs. The three level gut-and-rebuild is the work of H&E Architects, who also designed the dramatic Barangaroo House in the CBD, and Design Miss M, with Lorraine’s Bistro the icing on the cake.
Polished hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, a marble bar and a soaring atrium ceiling semaphore affordable luxury the minute you reach the top of the stairs. The head chef is Clement Marchais, ex-Peppe’s in Bondi, who has also worked with Michelin-starred superchef, Alain Ducasse. Whitten is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic wine lover who attended Roseworthy College. An expertise showcased in the hotel’s premium wine room with 200 exceptional wines on offer and also in the drive-through bottle shop.
Marchais collaborated with leading restaurant consultant, Phil Davenport, to create the French-inspired menu. Don’t ignore the bread and snacks. The sourdough bread with pepe saya butter is a highlight of any visit, as is the shiitake mushroom paté. Marchais has wisely included charcuterie in the lineup and the country-style pork terrine with cornichons is the hero.
Sharing is de rigueur with the small and large plate selections. We plumped for the octopus, harissa and garlic aioli and charcoal leek, hazelnut and truffle vinaigrette to start. Whitten also owns the Tamworth Hotel and the Gunnedah Hotel in regional NSW and the former has a big footprint on the menu. The country music capital of Australia is also the location of Jack’s Creek, one of the first Australian companies to breed and market wagyu beef over 20 years ago. Run by family scion, Patrick Warmoll, Jack’s Creek took the title of World’s Best Steak Producer in 2015 and 2016 and World’s Best Fillet Steak in 2017.
The open, custom-made charcoal grill at Lorraine’s is beef central for three major cuts – Jack’s Creek Black Angus bavette (flank), Scotch fillet and ribeye on the bone. Frites accompany the first option with red wine jus and baby potatoes doing the honours in the two other choices. Another popular order from the grill is chicken vadouvan, a half or full bird with French-style curry seasoning.
Vegetarians are catered for with ricotta gnocchi and grilled Savoy cabbage with sour cream, pickled raisins and macadamia nuts. There’s a trio of desserts but I highly recommend a taste treat you won’t find elsewhere – the olive oil gelato with lemon madeleines. Smooth, deeply satisfying and spiked with fresh herbs.
The Robin Hood has something for everyone from great food to live music and a host of beers on tap, including select craft favourites Wayward Brewing and Batch Brewing. It’s also open until the wee small hours for night owls. Whitten describes the revamp as a taste of the Inner West in the Eastern Suburbs. The Hood is also a magnet for locals and two young guys were playing chess in the public bar as we left to prove the point.

Lorraine’s Bistro, The Robin Hood Hotel, 203 Bronte Road, Waverley. Phone (02) 9389 3477.
Beckett’s in Glebe is another do-over. The Glebe Point Road corner location once hosted the longstanding Darling Mills restaurant, and more recently Darbar Fine Indian Cuisine. To suit the new brasserie concept, the gated, semi-underground sandstone space has been gussied up to mimic a mid-20th century New York or Parisian wine bar. Think a baby grand piano, small bar tables, banquette seating in the bar and ochre-coloured chairs and snow-white tablecloths in the dining room.
Jeff Schroeter (ex-Bistro Moncur and Bayswater Brasserie) helms the ranges and his partner in the venture is playwright-director, Wendy Beckett, who tapped a set designer for the evocative interior. The standout of the menu is Schroeter’s famous Queensland-sourced vanilla lobster and the seasonal menu centres on listings such as Never Never gin and beetroot-cured Mount Cook salmon with Yarra Valley salmon pearls, charcoal-roasted wagyu rump with pommes dauphinoise and the moreish burnt butter hummus that Schroeter admits to poaching from the now-defunct The Thievery restaurant further down Glebe Point Road.
With such a glam setting, cocktails are a major focus. Charlie Ainsbury (ex-Proof & Company and This Must Be the Place) has curated an addictive lineup including the Beckett’s martini made with Widges gin and Mancino Secco vermouth. Sasha Siljanovic (ex-Nomad and Spice Temple) has put together a distinctive wine list that provides great pairings for Schroeter’s classic dishes and new creations.
Beckett’s, 134A Glebe Point Road, Glebe. Phone (02) 9566 2167.
The $1 billion redevelopment of the Australian Technology Park in Redfern has been one of the nation’s largest urban projects. The much-awaited South Eveleigh dining precinct finally opened in April and May and top of the list for many was Re, which bills itself as Australia’s first no-waste bar/restaurant. The brainchild of Matt Whiley (ex-Scout) and Maurice Terzini (Icebergs and Ciccia Bella), it is located in a heritage-listed former locomotive workshop. Sustainability is top of the agenda and bars and tables are made from recycled bottles and Tupperware and plastics and milk cartons have been used in the structural features.
There’s nothing hairshirt about the food and drinks. Some of Sydney’s leading bartenders are in attendance, including Evan Stroeve (ex-Bulletin Place) and Ho Song (ex- Cantina OK), dishing up distinctive takes on classic cocktails served in reclaimed Maison Balzac glasses such as Wimbledon gimlet.
Alex Pritchard, head chef at Icebergs, is in charge of the menu and uses market surplus and trim in the kitchen. But not so you would know it, chowing down on puffed soy beef tendons, eggplant ceviche and the St John Rarebit, the speciality of the famous London pioneer of no-waste, made from cheddar cheese, Worcestershire sauce and Guinness.
Re, 2 Locomotive Street, Eveleigh; no phone.