An exciting new restaurant is set to open at the Opera House on Tuesday, July 4. Midden by Mark Olive is the latest project by the celebrated Indigenous Australian chef and Bundjalung man and will feature a menu of native Australian ingredients from wattle seed and bush honey to saltbush and succulents.

Midden – currently trading as Portside and located in the Western Foyers – will be operated by Doltone Hospitality Group and introduces a new vision to the Opera House’s current line-up of renowned bars and restaurants.

Diners will enjoy seasonal menus with vibrant flavours inspired by thousands of years of traditional cuisine; damper bread infused with native herbs served with whipped eucalyptus butter; blue gum-smoked barramundi; wallaby shanks braised in bush tomato; and quandong-glazed chicken stuffed with warrigal greens.

An Indigenous grazing plate of regional cheeses, native thyme hummus, smoked kangaroo, emu, lemon myrtle tandoori crocodile, olives, pickled vegetables, marinated artichoke, roasted macadamia nuts, quandong paste, Tasmanian mountain pepper leaf flatbread will also be a menu highlight.

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“Opening a restaurant at the Sydney Opera House on Tubowgule, Gadigal country is a dream come true,” said Olive in a statement.

“I could not be prouder to follow in the pioneering footsteps of leading Indigenous Australians like Rhoda Roberts, Justine Saunders and Stephen Page who have brought incredible First Nations storytelling to this place over the past 50 years.

“Of course, the land on which the Opera House stands was a gathering place for ceremony and culture for thousands of years before the building itself was ever conceived and I hope the menu we’ve created will give guests a real taste of that millennia-old history and maybe even inspire some to cook with our vibrant native ingredients at home too.”

Midden will open daily for lunch and dinner, with high teas served every Wednesday and on weekends. For trading hours and bookings, visit the Sydney Opera House website.

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