Celebrated Sydney Fine Diner Bentley To Close After Two Decades of Service

Bentley Restaurant & Bar, from Nick Hildebrandt and Brent Savage, has been a fine-dining heavy-hitter in Sydney since 2006, first in Surry Hills, then in the CBD. But now, two decades since its beginning, the pair are calling time on the dining room – for now.

“Bentley, it’s 20 years old. When we have our careers, you have long-service leave. So we’re thinking about it having its long-service leave,” Hildebrandt says. “It’s having a sabbatical, let’s say that – it’ll be back.”

The duo (also behind King Clarence, Eleven Barrack and Watermans) are on the hunt for a replacement restaurant – somewhere with room for 40 to 60, and private dining rooms. “As we started off, Bentley started in 2006, the pub we took was derelict at the time, we had to rebuild it from scratch,” says Hildebrandt. “The dining area was very humble, and now, 20 years on, it’s so much about the theatre of dining as much as what’s on the plate or in the glass. To have a great restaurant, we want to have a great room.”

Even if they lock a spot in now, it’s unlikely to be in service this year. “When we thought about where Bentley should be in the next five years, we really thought that it needed a good look at a new space that we can grow into,” says Hildebrandt. “The restaurant’s still very relevant, we’re still doing really great food and wine, we’re still very busy. We’re busy, it’s successful, but it’s just time to find a new spot.”

Bentley’s lease comes to an end in August, leaving enough time for the pair to run a “greatest hits” menu for three months. Classics from 2006 through to today will close out this era of Bentley.

“There’s lots of very fun frothy interesting things that we did early on,” says Savage. “Like some of it’s a bit molecular, there might be a few jellies here and there. We’re very excited about bringing some of those dishes back to life.”

In the bar, that means the likes of “gazpacho three ways”, potato with harissa and chorizo, and a cheffy popcorn chicken. And in the restaurant, two tasting menus will feature plates that brought the fine diner to the fore of Sydney’s culinary scene for the last two decades.

Did they know back then their restaurant was going to be this influential? “We had no idea. At the start, we didn’t even know if we’d last six months,” says Hildebrandt.

“Bentley is still a beautiful room, we just want something absolutely knockout. Something incredible. We want Bentley to be the best restaurant it can be.

“We want to engage with people and have fun with it for the last three months. Bentley came from very humble beginnings as well, and we want to make sure people remember that on the way out, too.”

Bentley Restaurant & Bar’s final service is in August 2026.

@bentleyrestaurantbar