Barangaroo House’s’ flagship restaurant Bea has rebooted with a new menu, look and feel under its new executive chef Tom Haynes.

Bea 2.0 is still the same seasonally-charged waterfront restaurant you remember, only more approachable than before. You can still enjoy top-notch wood-fired seafood in lush art deco surrounds, but there are more meat options now, and not a tweezer-set garnish in sight.

“I wanted to create an environment where people could relax and unwind. It’s food you want to eat in a place you want to eat it in,” says Haynes, who moved over from Matt Moran’s Woollahra garden gem Chiswick in February. Haynes describes the new menu at Bea as equal parts cheeky and messy, with local flavours at its core.

Like all of Solotel’s venues, Australian produce is the star at Bea in dishes such as a Southern Highlands roast duck, warm pressed local pork with rice crackers, and a whole John Dory that’s been designed to share.

Desserts keep the top collar unbuttoned and amp up the nostalgia-factor. A Milo-inspired ice-cream made with a cashew-based Milo will transport diners back to the schoolyard, and a zhooshed-up caramel koala replete with wattleseeds is the greatest coffee accompaniment you never knew about. The apple bombe Alaska, finished tableside with a healthy dose of liquid nitrogen-aided theatre, is case-in-point of Haynes’ clever take on familiar Aussie flavours.

The Australiana theme trickles into the drinks with native negronis and seasonal spritzes both appealing options for a harbourside sundowner. Wines play to a mostly Australian tune with a few internationals thrown in by sommelier Georgina Larsson to keep things varied.

Whether you’re here for a couple of seasonal G&Ts and a wattleseed caramel koala or settling in for a one-kilo t-bone with mates, Bea at Barangaroo House has you covered.

Bea
Barangaroo House, 1/35 Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney NSW
barangaroohouse.com.au