Redbird Chinese

Redfern has pubs and bars aplenty. One thing the suburb didn’t have – until locals Rebecca Lines and Hamish Ingham (Tequila Daisy, Bar H, Banksii) came along – was a Chinese restaurant to sing about. Redbird is just that, a polished neighbourhood diner with a menu drawing on Ingham’s extensive travels through China’s provinces.

One might be a cold salad of julienned potatoes with spicy chilli oil and Sichuan pepper; popular in Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province. Other highlights include stir-fried iceberg lettuce with cucumber, black fungus and oyster sauce; and pipis with crisp noodles and XO sauce. The signature red-braised bird – the showstopper dish on the set menu – is poached for an hour in Sichuan pepper, star anise, ginger, cinnamon and mandarin peel.⁠

Lines has put together a 150-strong wine list encompassing both the classics and new-wave naturals. A lengthy selection of by-the-glass options means locals wanting to swoop in spontaneously for wontons and wine on the way home have plenty to choose from here.

The duo worked with Luchetti Krelle (Woolly Bay Hotel, Jane) on the interiors for their Barangaroo venue Banksii, and entrusted the designers to create Redbird. It’s a sophisticated but warm space, with recycled timbers, original exposed-brick walls, terrazzo tiles and a knockout stone bar. A feng shui master was even brought in for consultation on the layout, colour choice and opening date.