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FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
I grew up in Melbourne in the early 1990s, the city’s post-punk/jazz/disco years, with the rise of all the bars and street cafes, which in some ways made it the urban, rock city of Australia. I threw Coffee and cooking there, which was quite important culturally for Melbourne.
I then moved to Sydney in 1999; I was taking a break from work and (the late billionaire real estate developer) Lang Walker made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: open a restaurant, which eventually became Otto Ristorante at the Wharf. I always felt that Sydney was the coastal capital of the country, and that really appealed to me. It still surprises me to see someone in the middle of the metropolis with a surfboard.
Being a secular punk kid from Melbourne, I spent a year in Surry Hills. It was something else back then, much more powerfully gay than it is now, and I went clubbing every night. Then I went to Bondi. Back then there was a lot of new electronic music and a gallery opened every week. Now that’s all gone because it’s become expensive and those people have moved to Byron or wherever. But that was a powerful scene for me and for what Icebergs was when I opened it in 2002.
Potts Point is where I live now. It feels as urban as Sydney, which I enjoy. These days I eat early, I have two small children and I have spent my entire life eating at two in the morning. I like Bistro 916 – I’ll take the boys and we’ll have a good steak with fries or a whiskey steak. I’m also going to The Apollo a lot. Those guys have been there since day one; The food is authentically Greek, no frills, it just always comes out good. It’s like the kitchen at my house. Bar PiccoloIn Kings Cross, it’s nice for a drink. It opened its doors in the 50s as a kind of Italian cafe-dining room; When it closed a few years ago, two clients reopened it as a coffee shop before bartender Dave Spanton took over as a snack/cocktail bar in 2021. And I go to Zinc (77 Macleay St) for coffee because it’s on my travel route. career and they know my request.
There are places I will leave Potts Point for: Ursulain Paddington, is exceptional. Phil Wood is one of my favorite chefs. On Oxford Street there is a branch of P&V Merchantsspecializing in natural wines from small producers and small batch spirits, most of them Australian. It’s always good to make discoveries and there is also a small wine cellar.
But the good thing about my neighborhood is how close you are to so many things. The Museum of Contemporary Art It’s over in The Rocks; the mother of my children [fashion designer] lucia [Hinckfuss] He takes them there almost every weekend, because there is always something to do. let’s go to Art Gallery of New South Wales all the time too. I love what they did with the addition of the Sydney Modern Project designed by SANAA. You know you’re in Sydney when you’re in that space. I don’t go to galleries [here] feel like I’m in Paris.
I really only wear Rick Owens, so I buy most of it online. That being said, there are some incredible retail sales here. Dion Horstmans is a dear friend who makes beautiful steel sculptures; You can visit his studio on Saturdays or by appointment. song for the mute is a great example of Sydney style – it started as a pop-up store on King Street, with men’s and women’s clothing that’s really conceptual, and opened a flagship store on George Street in the CBD last year. AND Lucy Folkwhich makes jewellery, has a small shop right next to Bondi Beach. It has a lot of character.
I’m a big believer in public facilities, something Australia has always done very well. The beaches are 100 percent equal; Once you’re down there, no one cares who you are. For me, one of the most magnificent places in Sydney is Marks Park in South Bondi, this green space on a headland on one of the most beautiful coastlines, for all to enjoy. I remember playing with my kids there a few years ago on an amazing day and thinking, “Fuck me, man, here we are.” They may be charging you about $400 a head at Icebergs, but anyone can come here with anchovies, salami, and a nice slice of mozzarella, sit on a park bench overlooking the ocean, and have everyone’s picnic. picnics. How good is that?