Since opening his first restaurant Blue Water Grill in 1986, Neil Perry has overseen the launch of dozens of restaurants. But, his latest – a grandiose three-storey Chinese restaurant in Double Bay – was “probably the hardest opening I’ve ever had”. Building delays, an unusable staircase and broken dumb waiters contributed to a “horrendous” first two weekends for the veteran restaurateur, but four weeks in, the chandelier is finally in place and Song Bird is in full swing.

Located in architect Neville Gruzman’s iconic Gaden House, Song Bird signals a return to Cantonese cooking by Perry who’s previously explored the cuisine at his restaurants Spice Temple, Jade Temple, Wockpool and XO.

Related story: Neil Perry’s new bar Bobbie’s opens in Double Bay 

“I’ve always loved Chinese food. Ever since I was very young, my father used to take me out to Chinatown,” says Perry. “We had some really awesome Chinese friends through the late ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, who owned restaurants in Chinatown, and we’d go to their wedding banquets and Chinese New Year banquets at their homes, and they’d come to ours. I wasn’t just eating, you know, lemon chicken and chicken chow mein and sweet and sour pork, but lots of gorgeous lobster and mud crab and abalone – and really beautiful stuff that most Australians weren’t really eating at a Chinese restaurant in those days.”

You’ll find some of those exact dishes at Song Bird, where Perry works closely with “some of the best fishermen in the country” to source produce for the seafood-heavy, 70-dish menu. Coral trout, caught by Ben Collison in Queensland, is served steamed with ginger and shallot, while Bruce Collis’ Corner Inlet calamari comes salt-and-pepper style. Elsewhere on the menu, there are dumplings and pot stickers, lobster and scallop spring rolls, char siu wagyu, a century egg salad, and live lobsters and mud crabs.

The drinks list is equally large, with 250 wines from across the globe and signature Lucky 8 Cocktails, including a plum-infused Han Old Fashioned and a Yuzu Margarita with salted grapefruit and five-spice agave.

Overseen by ACME and Caon Design Office, the 240-seat restaurant’s design pays respect to the building’s heritage and history, with the addition of marble and granite in green and gold tones, fluted timber panels and deep red hues across the three levels. But, according to Perry, the centrepiece is still the original “beautiful spiral staircase”. “It kind of floats off the curved wall and joins level two, one and the ground to become a whole experience.”

Song Bird is Perry’s fifth Double Bay venue – joining Margaret, Next Door, Baker Bleu and the just-opened basement cocktail bar Bobbie’s – but he insists that the Eastern Suburbs empire stops there. “I’ll never open another restaurant again. I’m planning just to consolidate and be down here with my family and my staff and my customers, and go on a lot of holidays in the next couple of years – if it actually works out.”

Song Bird is now open at 24 Bay St, Double Bay on Wed 6-11pm, Thu-Sat 12-11pm and Sun 12-10pm. Find out more and book here.

Related story: Neil Perry to ‘honour his mum’ with new Double Bay restaurant Margaret