Porter House, Sydney to reopen with three levels of drinking and dining - Restaurants

Jun 01, 2022

Checking in to the landmark site will be vintage cafe Henry’s Bread + Wine, modern brasserie Dixson & Sons, and Spice Trader bar, with an entire floor dedicated to private dining and events.

Hotel dining gets a bad rap, but Porter House is looking to change that. The new food and beverage destination is opening in July and is set inside an 1870s heritage-listed building in Sydney’s CBD. It comprises three venues over five levels – a deli and wine bar, brasserie and bar. Plus, there are two floors dedicated to private dining and function spaces.

It’s next door to The Porter House Hotel Sydney – MGallery, a new build that’s connected to the heritage property via two walkways. For those that aren’t fans of hotel dining, Porter House feels like a separate entity. For those that like the convenience of moving from room to restaurant, it’s easy-peasy.

Henry’s Bread and Wine on the ground level will offer coffee, takeaway breakfast and lunches plus dine-in dishes such as a wagyu pastrami Reuben with sour onions, Jersey cheese and thousand island dressing and smoked blue eye trevalla bagel with aioli, parsley and salted fennel. Bar snacks will include pork and pistachio terrine with Pedro Ximénez prune puree and mustard leaves as well as royal red prawn milk bun with celery, herbs and fermented chili cocktail sauce. The space itself revolves around a central bar and there’s a four-metre wine wall of predominantly Australian offerings.

smoked blue eye travella, aioli, parsley, salted fennel -THEPORTERHOUSE_Henry's_StevenWoodburn_43

Dixson & Sons is a 90-seat brasserie with banquettes, a six-metre bar and two semi-private dining spaces. The brief here is sophisticated simplicity, with a focus on produce from New South Wales.

In keeping with executive chef Emrys Jones’ experience at Fish Butchery, seafood will be purchased whole and broken down. Fruit and vegetables will be given similar treatment, you may see the sweet flesh of a persimmon on one dish while another features a vinegar made from its fermented leaves and trims.
Native ingredients will also be highlighted, from bush tomato to native thyme and lemon myrtle to desert lime.

“The dining experience at Dixson & Sons balances simplicity with sophistication, with native Australian ingredients and Asian influences weaved into a menu celebrating the best of seasonal produce,” Jones says.

Roast lamb short saddle, eggplant & miso puree, brassicas, chocolate jus - THEPORTERHOUSE_Dixson's_StevenWoodburn_20

It’s a wide-ranging scope, but the heart of the menu will be centred around the produce with a technical execution that comes from Jones’ British and French classic training. It means the launch menu could include dishes such as roast lamb short saddle with eggplant and miso puree, brassicas and chocolate jus served alongside roast potatoes with bush tomato salt.

The produce-focus means vegetarians will also be well-catered to with dishes of salt-baked beets with labna, leatherwood honey, buckwheat and marigold or smoked leek with tahini yoghurt and pistachio pesto.

Spice Trader bar is perched on the top level of Porter House and makes the most of its location with glass panels that line the roof to let in natural light. It’s due to open later in spring.

While it’s usually the case of the hotel first and the food offering second, Porter House worked the other way around.

Smoked leek, tahini yoghurt, pistachio pesto - THEPORTERHOUSE_Dixson's_StevenWoodburn_31

“The intention was always for the hotel to be a sophisticated supporting act to the three dining and drinking destinations of Porter House,” says Erin Proud, director of guest experience, Porter House Hotel Sydney – MGallery.

“The Porter House building hasn’t been used in its entirety for many decades so we wanted to provide Sydneysiders and visitors to our city with an opportunity to explore and connect with this majestic, timeless building through these new food and beverage experiences.”