Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt are moving their Potts Point venue Monopole to the Sydney CBD.
Monopole will close in September before reopening on Hunter Street in October, but it’s not over for the Potts Point site.
Savage and Hildebrandt will hang on to the location, which will relaunch as a yet-to-be-announced venue.
Co-owner and sommelier Hildebrandt says Monopole’s location shift has been on the cards for a while, with the new site better suiting the concept.
“We’ve been wanting to move Monopole to the CBD … and were offered a great site that is ideally suited to the evolution of Monopole,” he says.
“When we first opened, we loved that locals would drop in regularly for a glass of wine and snacks. This is a big part of Monopole’s identity, which we look forward to introducing to the CBD.”
The 80-seat venue, which overlooks Australia Square, will be designed by Pascale Gomes-McNabb and encompass a 20-seat marble bar, 25-seat private dining room and a general seating area punctuated by blond wood tables and chairs.
Monopole will operate as a bistro by day and morph into a wine bar for dinner, offering drinks, snacks and more substantial dishes.
Savage is set to launch a new menu, which will champion classic dishes – but not as you know them.
“We’ve given a lot of thought to Monopole’s evolution, and this new menu will give me the opportunity to put the Monopole twist on some classic combinations such as salad Niçoise, steak frites and snacks like a Moreton Bay bug roll,” says the chef and co-owner.
Monopole’s signature wine offering will continue on at the new site, with a continued focus on local and global winemakers along with a generous by the glass list.
More details to come.