Park House Food and Liquor

Front Yard has 40-odd craft beers on tap, a beer garden, a burger menu and a soundtrack of garage rock.

It’s part two of co-owners Fraser Short (The Sydney Collective) and Arthur Laundy’s five-part $12 million development of the former Mona Vale Hotel, which also involves a rooftop restaurant and bar, a cafe, pop-up markets, food trucks, event spaces and a brew bar, and will cater for 2000 people. The pair bought the venue, along with Northies in North Cronulla, for more than $50 million in 2014.

The first phase, the Park House Food Merchants restaurant, opened in November 2017, and David Clarke, the group executive chef of The Sydney Collective, was the driving force behind its Mexican-, Mediterranean- and Middle Eastern-inspired menu.

The impressive centrepiece is the New Zealand line-caught pink snapper, covered in a thick layer of salsa verde and then baked in the wood oven. Clarke places an emphasis on spicy, punchy and interesting flavours.

The cocktail menu also draws influence from Mexico and LA. There’s an exemplary grapefruit margarita and spritzes, such as the Rodriguez Bros – a blend of Solerno blood orange liqueur, rosé, blood orange juice and soda.

The 160-seat area, designed by Alexander and Co. (The Morrison, Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel), has a softer industrial feel, combining fresh white walls with exposed timber beams spaced across the ceiling. Artwork by Sydney artist Daimon Downey lines the walls. The main restaurant leads out into an open-air courtyard with several raised tables for group bookings.

The fresh tones and bright spaces reflect its Northern Beaches location, but there’s also soft elements such as fireplaces, lounges and cocktail areas.