Just In: Phil Wood’s Ursula’s Is Closing After Five Years in Paddington

“This is not something I ever imagined writing,” begins a statement from Ursula’s chef-owner Phil Wood, who has shared that his Hot Listed Paddington diner is closing when its lease expires in May.

Saturday May 23 will be the final service.

“Running a small independent restaurant the way we believe it should be run has become increasingly difficult and, with the lease coming to an end, it felt like the right moment to close this chapter,” says Wood.

When Ursula’s opened in 2021, it made waves. Diners were excited to see what Wood – who had previously held leadership roles at Pt Leo Estate in the Mornington Peninsula, Rockpool Bar & Grill, and Eleven Bridge – could do as an owner-operator. For the last five years, he’s run Ursula’s alongside his wife and business partner Lis Davies.

“When we opened Ursula’s, the goal was simple – to create a small independent restaurant that was generous to its staff and guests, deeply connected to its neighbourhood, and built with care and integrity. I can honestly say, with great pride, that we achieved this,” he says.

“Over the years we’ve been lucky to have an extraordinary group of hospitality professionals grace the floor and the kitchen. They’ve helped shape this little restaurant into a beautifully warm place, full of fantastic regulars and genuinely wonderful guests.”

His menu was rich and unctuous. In his statement Wood called out the Moreton Bay bug pasta with crustacean butter, which was “the cornerstone of the menu”.

The fit-out – especially that corner table – was quickly featured across design publications and social media feeds alike. It was the work of “the ever-talented Brem Perera”.

Wood continues: “Over lockdown, Lis and I spent countless hours setting and resetting our dining table at home to select the crockery, glassware and cutlery. We pored over every detail: the mismatched Maison Balzac water glasses, the scalloped dinner plates, the hand-painted lampshades, and the menu illustrations by Lis’s favourite illustrator, New York-based Happy Menocal. Seeing it all come together felt a little surreal, and we’ve loved sharing it with Sydney and those of you who have visited us from all around the world.”

They thanked diners for “the birthdays, anniversaries, date nights and ordinary Tuesdays you chose to spend with us” and encouraged people to return before the final service.

At a loss as to how to cram the best of Ursula’s into one final meal? Wood shared in the same statement: “My perfect Ursula’s meal would start with oysters with Champagne mignonette and salmon roe and egg sandwiches, followed by bug pasta and roast prawns to share, then roast chicken with kombu butter and steak with wasabi and lime accompanied by Paris mash. Dessert would have to be golden syrup dumplings.”

Book before Saturday May 23.