While Broadsheet chats to Alice Tremayne, Corner 75’s new general manager, we’re interrupted by a passing Randwick local sticking their head in the door.

“They just come in. Even if the door’s shut, they just come in,” Tremayne laughs afterwards. “I think Paul really set it up as a place that was so welcoming, people would come here because they liked the food – but they really came here for Paul. I feel like I’ve got big shoes to fill, and I still want that generosity there.”

It’s true the former owner-operator and maître d’ was as synonymous with the restaurant as the whopping pork schnitzel, the service and the ambience. Which, yes, are all returning when the dining room re-emerges tonight after its preservation journey.

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“We knew it was a special, important place to a lot of people in this community. We’ve actually been in here since January, and every day, without fail, three to four people come by and they’re like, ‘Are you keeping it Hungarian? What are you doing? Don’t change it.’ Or other people being like, ‘This is really exciting. We can’t wait for the change. We’ve been coming here since the ’80s.’”

Tremayne (ex-Attica, Fred’s) is into small details, just like the rest of her cohort: her husband and chef Dan Puskas (of Stanmore fine diner Sixpenny), Jean-Paul El Tom and Alex Kelly (of Baba’s Place), and head chef Carley Scheidegger (ex-Fred’s). Those CVs are the proof. And while the style of food and service between them varies greatly, each is committed to delivering something special for their guests.

“I worked at very high-end restaurants and for places like that, some people had saved all year to dine there. Or it was a once-off. So you’ve got a responsibility, in a sense, to make sure you can deliver the experience that they expect. We’re going to give really casual, warm, friendly service but with our experience of detail and attention – the finer parts – we can give that to people without it feeling stuffy.”

For tonight, after a small soft service, nervous energy has transformed (mostly) into excitement. While the kitchen team get familiar with its new-build surrounds, the front-of-house team is doing the final touches: tables are being straightened and set, linen is being folded, candleholders are being cleaned, market-fresh sunflowers are hitting colourful vases. The food and wine menus are getting another once-over, the coffee machine’s warming up and staff are memorising the sequence of service – from the first interaction to the very last.

“[We want to] make it fun, make it professional, get all the right details. A big welcome is always really important – we’re a small restaurant, we’re not going to have a dedicated host, so everyone’s going to need to know how to say hello, greet someone. Even if you have to wait, you’ve been acknowledged.”

For the last 12 of its 40-plus years as a restaurant, Corner 75 was as much about interacting with the welcoming owner-operator Paul Varga as dining.

“Part of the [training] was Paul and looking at some of the old reviews and saying, ‘Look how people are speaking about this’ – they’re coming here because it felt generous, it felt warm, it felt like it was a real experience. I just want to approach it in the same way. They’ve been coming since the ’80s, let’s keep them coming.”

After a few months of anticipation, we’re ready for a glass from Tremayne’s curated Eastern European wine list and plates aplenty from a Hungarian menu that nods more to its Aussie home.

“It’s been really beautiful putting this together because we all agreed it needed to be preserved. It feels important. It feels more than just another restaurant.”

Corner 75 reopens with its new custodians at 75 Frenchmans Road, Randwick, at 5.30pm on Wednesday March 5, 2025.

@corner.75