Chef Neil Perry has announced he’ll close his last independent restaurant, Sydney’s Eleven Bridge, with the Rockpool Dining Group taking over the site and opening a new Cantonese restaurant by mid-2017.
Eleven Bridge will close after dinner service on Saturday, 13 May – less than a year after replacing Rockpool Est. 1989 in August 2016.
A statement issued by Rockpool Dining Group states that all employees have been offered the opportunity to stay with the group.
Sydney restaurant group, Urban Purveyor Group acquired Perry’s foodservice businesses in November 2016, forming the $350m Rockpool Dining Group with the iconic chef taking on a role as group chief brand and culinary officer.
Perry said the restaurant would acknowledge its closing with a tasting menus of classic dishes from Eleven Bridge and Rockpool, prepared by executive chef Phil Wood.
“The team is really excited about going out on such a high by creating all the great three hat dishes, past and present,” Perry said.
“Rockpool Dining Group operates a tight-knit family of quality restaurants and great brands with maximum efficiency and it makes sense to operate the Eleven Bridge site within this portfolio, rather than as a standalone restaurant.”
Chief executive officer Thomas Pash said the Eleven Bridge site was conveniently located in between some of Rockpool Dining Group’s core clusters of restaurants and tied the group’s Sydney footprint together nicely.
“The location is perfect and being part of the critical mass that is Rockpool Dining Group makes it more manageable for everyone,” Pash said. “It’s a unique and historic site, and a handsome addition to the group. We’re looking forward to revealing the latest addition to our portfolio in due course.”
Perry told Good Food that the new venue will be a Cantonese restaurant, “aiming for two hats.”
