Curtis Stone will make his Australian restaurant debut in 2027, leading the culinary direction of two original venues inside the new Waldorf Astoria Sydney.
The Melbourne-born, Los Angeles-based chef is developing a restaurant and separate bar for the luxury hotel at One Circular Quay. The opening will mark both Stone’s first restaurant project in Australia and the Waldorf Astoria brand’s Australian debut.
Positioned across the hotel’s upper levels, the venues are being designed as destinations for local diners as well as hotel guests. The level 24 restaurant will accommodate approximately 100 guests and include a chef’s counter offering a view into the kitchen. A bar will sit above it on level 25, beneath a retractable roof overlooking Sydney Harbour.
Names and menus have not yet been released, but the culinary direction is expected to place Australian produce at the centre of the experience. Stone has identified seafood, meat, fruit, vegetables and native ingredients as important parts of the developing offer, supported by relationships he has built with Australian growers and producers throughout his career.
Live-fire cooking will also be a defining feature. Incorporating this style of cooking into a restaurant located 24 storeys above Circular Quay presents substantial ventilation, fire safety and kitchen-design requirements. Its inclusion indicates that the cooking format has been integrated into the project well before opening rather than added as a decorative menu device.
Stone’s international restaurant portfolio includes Gwen Butcher Shop & Restaurant in Los Angeles, which holds a Michelin star, the now-closed Michelin-starred Maude and bakery-bistro The Pie Room. His Sydney project will adapt that experience to a distinctly Australian setting rather than reproduce one of his existing overseas concepts.
For the wider hospitality sector, the partnership demonstrates the growing importance of food and beverage in positioning luxury hotels. The restaurant is being developed as a standalone dining attraction, with the chef, kitchen format, producer relationships and harbourfront location forming central parts of the hotel’s identity.
It also reflects a broader move towards restaurants with a strong sense of place. Australian ingredients will provide the foundation, while Stone has indicated that the country’s culturally diverse kitchens will inform the food rather than a narrowly defined national cuisine.
Waldorf Astoria Sydney is owned and developed by Fiveight and is scheduled to open with Stone’s restaurant and bar in 2027. Further details about the concepts and menus are expected as construction and development progress.
