Over the years, Opera Bar’s neighbour Opera Kitchen has had many iterations – but we reckon this one might just stick. Matt Moran (Aria, Chiswick) and hospitality group Solotel have turned the harbourfront venue into House Canteen, a new all-day diner and bar where you can park up with a plate of food and a glass of wine, or grab a bite to take back to the office.
Moran and his team took over the venue in March 2021, transforming it into a market food hall-style diner and bar. Eighteen months on, they’ve decided to create a more distinctive identity for the venue by changing its name and menu.
“Asian food is something that we don’t really do at Opera Bar, so it gave a different sort of feel to it … it’s become a bit of a dumpling house,” Moran tells Broadsheet.
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SIGN UPHouse Canteen was designed to be more relaxed than Opera Bar (which Moran and Solotel also operate), with “grab-and-go” food available.
“At the same time, people are sitting down there and having dinner, and then a little bit later, it turns into more of a bar,” says Moran. “What better location than sitting there looking at the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House?”
Popular items at House Canteen include the rice paper rolls, teriyaki chicken rolls, tuna rolls and sashimi. Baskets of steamed dumplings, including prawn, pork and chive, and vegetable are also on the menu, as well as heftier options such as chicken katsu curry, a karaage chicken burger and poke bowls.
House Canteen also serves coffee from Single O, and in the mornings, customers will find pastries, doughnuts and other baked goods. The varied menu is aimed at appealing to everyone, from people who work in the area to tourists looking for lunch, or those on the hunt for a pre- or post-show bite to eat. Summery cocktails including a lychee Martini and passionfruit Margarita sit alongside a mostly Australian wine list and craft beer.
Sydney Opera House chief customer officer Jade McKellar tells Broadsheet the brief for the site was complex.
“We wanted something that was new, we wanted it to be fresh, relaxed, but it had to be broad in appeal … it also needed to be a destination in its own right,” she says.
New furniture – a mix of relaxed low and high tables – is set to arrive over summer, giving House Canteen a new colour scheme, one that sets it apart from Opera Bar.
“Why wouldn’t you want to be down there [the Opera House precinct] every night of the week?” says Moran. “If you’ve got someone here from out of town, or you’ve got someone here from overseas, that’s where you go.”
House Canteen
Lower Concourse Level, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney
Hours:
Daily 7.30am–late
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