First Look: The Palomar Is a London Classic. Now It’s (Finally) Sydney’s Turn

When The Palomar hit London’s Soho, it was the place to be. It was 2014 and the people wanted a kitchen-counter seat for kubaneh (a Yemeni bread) to swipe through labneh, charred proteins and more. Then the team – siblings Layo and Zoe Paskin of Studio Paskin – worked it from a hit to a classic.

“The real dream is to make [your new venue] really good – that’s your first port of call,” Layo tells Broadsheet. “And then I think there’s a bit of luck, where everything comes together. When The Palomar opened, it just hit in a really good way in London. It was really alive and happening, then it was up to us to harness it and make sure that we didn’t lose that magic.”

More than a decade later, it’s still tricky to nab a seat. And that kitchenside spot is hot property. Since Sydney’s announcement, anyone I’ve spoken to who’s eaten at the original has expressed excitement for the Down Under follow-up – but it’s not cookie-cutter, there’s plenty of Sydney’s edge.

Two-bite chicken schnitzels, crisp cucumbers revved up with green tahini, and a particularly popular ice-cream sanga (a pistachio scoop squeezed between house-made baklava) nod to Soho. But then our producers get involved.

Appellation Oysters and Wheelers are sending in Sydney rock oysters, and direct-to-farm Sift Produce is on veggie duty with Newcastle greens. Coppertree’s delivering Berkshire pork chops – ready to be sweetened with fire-roasted grapes and sherry – and retired dairy cow rib eyes. Carb master Shady Wasef, of Pyrmont’s Pioik, is baking flatbreads spiced with nigella seeds, ideal with the trio of dips (hummus, baba ganoush or a burnt corn borani).

“It was really important to Layo and the whole team that it made sense in Sydney,” Orr says. “There’s no point picking up a venue and planting it in another city that doesn’t necessarily make sense – the produce is different. For example, the rhubarb in London is very different to the rhubarb here.”

Our rhubarb is honeyed up then joins stracciatella – just one of the many Orr-coded veggies, seen most recently at Kiln. “There are a couple of touchpoints that people will recognise from London … and crowd-pleasers that will walk out the door, but our guests will tell us what the Sydney hits are.”

Orr is joined in the kitchen by head chef Luke Davenport, who’s coming full circle after kicking off his career in 2016 at The Palomar. He stopped at Noma, The Ledbury and Alo first, though, and Potts Point brasserie Franca. Chloe Sharp (ex-Kiln) joins as sous chef, along with Namit Toppo, Bistecca ’s ex-head chef who was Olympus ’s opening sous, too.

“It’s probably the most talented team I’ve ever worked with,” Orr says. “It really is [Luke’s] show day to day, I’m just here to help guide and mentor him – he’ll drive the menu. We’ve got a couple of old hospo legends that people will know from eating around Sydney over the years, and some real young guns. Roean Patawaran, our head of beverage, opened Oncore, opened The International. [Sommelier] Eleonore Wulf’s just come from Aalia. Lillia McCabe, our front of house, was in the kitchen when I opened Acme – she became a somm and is now a venue manager.”

“In hospitality, generally speaking, you’re really only as good as all the people you’re working with,” Layo adds. “We could all buy the best steak, the best fish, the best this – and that’s obviously what we’re setting out to do – but the team is crucial. And ours is miles better than I would’ve imagined.”

Paddington’s Palomar – inside the just-opened 25 Hours Hotel The Olympia – is double the size of Soho but primed with some of its “non-negotiables”: an open-plan kitchen with woodfired grill; a bar (here, a wraparound pink quartzite number); buzzy atmosphere; and “unpretentious, friendly service that’s deeply knowledgeable”.

The Palomar
7 Oxford Street, Paddington

Hours:
Tue to Sat 5pm–late

thepalomar.com.au
@palomarsydney