Welcome Winnie’s, the Opera House’s New Early-Till-Late Spot – No Ticket Required

It’s the experience people fly around the world for: iconic Sydney views, ferries gliding across the harbour, with a glass of something cold in hand, hot chips disappearing before they’ve cooled down. But this week, the whole thing’s even better with Winnie’s.

The day-to-night spot is the first new venue as part of hospitality group Applejack’s era running food and drink on the Opera House’s lower concourse. Next door to the ever-heaving Opera Bar, the fit-out comes courtesy of Luchetti Krelle, with a broad, crowd-pleasing menu by culinary director Patrick Friesen and exec chef Daniel Cooper.

“If you’re coming to Sydney, you’re going to come to the Opera House,” says Friesen. “So what we want to do is give people a highlight reel of what makes Sydney so delicious – the most delicious city in the world, if you ask me … My process was: let’s bring a taste of home to the house.”

Winnie’s mornings start from 7.30am, with Gabriel coffee and Cherrymoon General Store pastries. There’s also the locally sourced House Brekky Plate – with pickles, cheese, soft-boiled eggs and ferments – a roll stuffed with Black Forest Smokehouse bacon and a fried egg, and a chicken-and-sweetcorn congee topped with a runny egg, nori, black fungi and a kick of crispy chilli.

The space retains a homey feel despite having room for more than 330 beneath the sails. There are terracotta-toned tables and chairs, and an open bar built in line with the site’s heritage-listed architecture.

Breakfast wraps up at 11am, when the day-to-night menu takes over. Now you’re in for squid and Hawkesbury River school prawns with zucchini, lemon and aioli; Sommerlad chicken soup; half a barbequed chook with kipfler potatoes and garlic miso yoghurt to dip; and a classic crumbed fish burger. There’s the kids’ Mini Winnie’s menu too, and a warm Anzac topped with ice-cream and a healthy pour of butterscotch made with golden syrup.

The dish Friesen is most excited about hits the snacky, salty and special trifecta: potted blue swimmer crab hedged with salt-and-vinegar potato scallops. “You scoop up this buttery crab salad, put it on your potato scallop, and get this contrast of temperatures and textures,” he says. “It’s really luxe.”

Wine and beer are all Aussie-produced – bubbles through to skin-contact, rosé and reds, alongside Stone & Wood, Young Henrys and Hawke’s beers. Cocktails draw on native botanicals, like wattleseed, finger lime and lilly pilly. The Saltbush Martini is a smoky, coastal standout.

Long before Winnie’s came on the scene, its namesake, Trinidad-born artist Winifred Atwell, gave the Opera House its first female performance, and a spectacular second ever show, when she played Waltzing Matilda to construction workers in 1964, years before the building’s 1973 opening.

Now, Winnie’s stays open until the Opera House’s last curtain call, with a limited late-night menu from 10pm. It’s practically a house rule, Friesen says, “if you’ve been to a show, you’re guaranteed a drink and a snack on the way out.”

Winnie’s
Lower concourse, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point

Hours:
Mon to Sun 7.30am–late

winniessydney.com.au
@winniessydney