Sydney’s confounding love of elaborate throwback steakhouses and brasseries continues as the bankable team behind two of the city’s most popular restaurants, Pellegrino 2000 and Bistrot 916, has now opened Clam Bar.
The grand project has been one of the most hotly anticipated restaurant openings in Sydney for 2023, so Clam Bar’s arrival comes with considerable enthusiasm for the harbour city’s aggressively growing hospitality scene.
While Melbourne is still quite stagnant when it comes to big-ticket restaurant openings, Sydney has been full-speed ahead with grand new venues like Palazzo Salato, from the Love Tilly Group, Andrew Becher’s Armorica Grand Brasserie and The Bentley Group’s Brasserie 1930. Clam Bar is poised to slide into that scene quite nicely as a homage to the old-school steakhouses you’d find peppered across the USA. Fitting, given the ambitious project is a luxurious revamp of the heritage building that once hosted Ross Lusted’s hugely acclaimed Bridge Room.
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Spearheaded by Dan Pepperell, Mikey Clift and Andy Tyson, Clam Bar will be driven by a high-end josper grill used to showcase prime Australian produce, alongside a raw seafood bar and a menu that’s reportedly much more expensive than anything the crew has attempted before. They’ve already done Rome with Pellegrino 2000, and Paris with Bistrot 916, so this reliable crew turning their attention towards the Grand American steakhouses of yesteryear understandably sits on a lot of hype and expectation.
There’s little doubt that Clam Bar has what it takes to become Sydney’s next destination restaurant. Head chef Sam Galloway moves over from Bistrot 916 to take the reigns in the kitchen, sharing dishes that focus on premium cuts of beer and whole fish, some of which are filleted tableside with a pop of theatre. The menu is bold and makes its influence no secret, reading like the greatest hits of schmoozy Midtown Manhattan with a cheeseburger, porterhouse and New York strip steaks.
The menu features riffs on classic American entrees like oysters Rockefeller and prawn cocktails, complemented by an approachable wine list with iconic internationals and classic American cocktails seemingly built to perfection ranging from the martini to the Manhattan.
Will Clam Bar be all it’s piped up to be? I’m sure at least one of the BH boys will end up there soon and we’ll be bringing you our verdict.
Clam Bar
Address: 44 Bridge St, Sydney NSW 2000
