A rooftop terrace with ‘million dollar’ views set in an iconic Sydney building is about to be transformed into a high end restaurant, and not everyone is happy about it.
The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney, has closed the sculpture terrace cafe to make way for a new fine dining restaurant called Canvas.
A trip to the old cafe with its ‘affordable’ menu was a feature of visits to the MCA, but those wanting to enjoy the view will now have to splash out a lot more on a meal.
Australian hospitality professionals The Big Group, behind Melbourne venue Glasshouse on the Yarra, are launching the lunch only restaurant in October.
Having already opened a new cafe on the ground floor overlooking the Tallawoladah Lawn, the level four destination is designed to be a more formal and upscale option.
The kitchen will play host to a revolving roster of celebrity chefs from Australia and around the world, with UK based, Aussie-born Skye Gyngell a possible future guest.
Big Group founder Bruce Keebaugh told The Sydney Morning Herald that just like a work of art, not everybody is going to like the terrace space becoming exclusive.
Mr Keebaugh said the location was ‘too premium’ to devote to a cheaper style, casual eatery where people can sit for hours with a cup of coffee or a cake.
The MCA terrace sculpture will be the setting for a new lunch only restaurant called Canvas, with the space available for hire during the evenings
The old ‘cafeteria style’ café offered museum goers quick and easy meals overlooking the ‘world class’ view of Sydney Harbour and The Opera House
Instead, Canvas will offer a three course lunch menu for less than $100 and the space, with its Opera House views will be available for hire during the evenings.
The first chef helming the Canvas kitchen for the initial three month stint will be Josh Raine, of Tetsuya’s, which recently closed down in the the city’s CBD.
The announcement comes as Australians struggling with the cost of living are spending less money on dining, with closures across the country in record numbers.
Which is perhaps why not everyone is happy to hear that the old venue with its ‘cafeteria feel’ and reasonable prices is making way for something more exclusive.
‘No more dining on the sculpture terrace?’ one asked.
But others said that the ‘exciting’ new restaurant opening will make the most of the world class views and enliven Sydney’s ailing dining scene.
‘Wow, fabulous,’ one said.
‘Just what Sydney needs! Congratulations!’ another added.
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