In the high-wire act of hospitality, you’re rarely offered a do-over. But that’s exactly what Ezra’s Nick and Kirk Mathews Bowden are getting in Teddy, which opens tonight in the old Raja space.

“I won't let it go without saying we remain so incredibly proud of what we all achieved together at Raja,” Nick tells Broadsheet. “The idea for Raja was birthed in January 2022, which is chalk and cheese to the world we live in now – it was still in that post-Covid lockdown boom. By the time we came to open Raja, it was 18 months later. The economy got crunchier and crunchier; people were looking for more comfort dining. [Raja was] a great product in the wrong market.”

Teddy is nothing if not timely. It’s running with a “triple-A” ethos: approachable, accessible and affordable, with a menu by ex-Ezra and current-Public Wine Shop head chef Ben Sears. Ezra head chef Nicole Coelho is stepping up as group head chef across the boys’ two neighbouring venues.

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At Teddy, the starters steal the show. It’s all nostalgia via slightly retro dishes. Warm dinner rolls come in a basket with a pink paper liner and hot garlicky butter, a nod to “going out on the North Shore in the early ’90s with my family,” Nick says, “which for us would have been a very, very special occasion”. Nick says he remembers dinner rolls on doilies and leant into touches like that, which might be considered “naff for twee” these days.

Then there’s the pork and lobster sausage roll dressed in “a little pink tuckshop bag”, all set to be split in two, with a side of “fancy” tomato sauce. The Royal with Cheese introduces tartare to cheeseburgers, with the beef topped with smoked cheddar, ready to be ferried to your gob with Melba toast (and a Polly-Pocket-sized bottle of Tabasco alongside).

Completing Teddy’s wink at ’80s dining is the king prawn cocktail and grilled lamb chops. The $12-a-pop chops come with green sauce, lemon and very ’80s frilly paper manchettes.

Sticking to theme of approachability, the Mathews Bowdens don’t want anyone to have to Google ingredients. There’s a cacio e pepe pasta bake; a schnitty; a swordfish; and a minute steak served with “cafe de Sydney” butter, revved up with Keen’s Curry Powder, fish sauce and Maggi seasoning.

No single dish sits above the $39 pricepoint, but that doesn’t mean cheap or low-quality. “I don’t believe that affordable should ever – in any industry, particularly ours – be a race to bargain basement prices,” he says. “If you’ve got to be really selective with how you’re parting with your money right now, in the end, are you happy with the decision you made?

“We’ve tried to find ways to produce dishes efficiently … I call it ‘tongs, not tweezers’.” That means dishes the kitchen team’s proud of, food that’s tasty and can be on your table stat. “So, no laying of the sorrel micro-herbs with tweezers, which is perfect, but, you know, a time and a place.”

The team’s made some cosmetic changes to the Raja space, rather than completely reimagining the fit-out. “It’s got the most beautiful bones. It was a restaurant called Natalinos in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. We’re having a little bit of fun with retro neon nods. It’s fun and playful, and has that camp, Dirty Dancing ’80s nod.”

The pair hope this will be the sort of place you can come “for all reasons and all seasons”, be it to celebrate a birthday or just for a weeknight wine and jaffle from the happy hour menu. As Nick says, “Come as you are”.

Teddy
1 Kellett Street, Potts Point
(02) 9161 4131

Hours:
Mon to Thurs 4pm–late
Fri to Sun midday–late

teddypottspoint.com.au
@teddypottsoint