When Sugarcane owner-chef Milan Strbac treated his family to a day at the beach last summer, he had no idea that it would lead to the popular Surry Hills restaurant’s expansion.

But lead to such an expansion it did. Strbac yesterday announced that he has taken over the old Nissaki Greek Tavern on the South Coogee beachfront.

“I saw the taverna and I thought, ‘this has so much potential,’” he said. He saw that the taverna was looking for wait staff, took a photo of the help wanted poster in the window, and made an altogether different call.

Strbac said the Coogee branch of Sugarcane would maintain the Southeast Asian flavour of the Surry Hills original, with a special focus on seafood befitting its beachside location. The 100-seat bar and restaurant on Arden Street is currently undergoing a redesign and will feature two outdoor spaces and a private dining room.

Strbac, who became a Coogee local himself last year, said the suburb’s residents were crying out for upmarket dining options, and that it and the other southern beaches had long been overlooked in favour of the more iconic Bondi.

“People used to look at Coogee and Maroubra as the arse-end of the eastern suburbs and avoided them,” he said. “But [Merivale’s] Coogee Pavilion has put Coogee back on the map and even Maroubra has come a long way.”

“Bondi’s overpopulated with restaurants,” he said. “Everyone’s done Bondi. They’ve thrashed it.”

Sugarcane’s Coogee restaurant is expected to launch on July 14.