Set across historic wool stores and customs offices, sandstone courtyards, and heritage-listed buildings in The Rocks, The Collective brings together five Sydney venues by the Hunter St Hospitality group in one sprawling precinct.
As well as favourite Japanese restaurant Saké and underground steakhouse The Cut Bar & Grill, three brand-new bars and restaurants open in The Collective on Friday 11 April: The Dining Room, The Garden and Tailor Room.
“With The Collective, we saw a chance to do something special,” says Hunter St Hospitality CEO Frank Tucker, “breathing new life into heritage spaces that deserve to be experienced, not just admired.” Many Sydneysiders would know The Collective's site as that of nightclub The Argyle, which referred to its past as the 1800s-built Argyle Stores.
Across each venue at The Collective (in addition to Rockpool Bar & Grill, Spice Temple and Bar Patrón), Hunter St Hospitality executive chefs Santiago Aristizabal, Andy Evans, and Shimpei Hatanaka lead the culinary direction, bringing their diverse backgrounds and experience to menu curation.
The Dining Room
A fine dining restaurant anchored around seasonality, The Dining Room focuses on premium ingredients, celebrated international and local wines, and elegant simplicity.
Stars of the menu include a caviar tartlet, foie gras eclair with Davidson plum, or baby abalone schnitzel with citrus mayo before focusing on seafood- and vegetable-focused small plates, and classic protein dishes like Berkshire pork chop with hot mustard and burnt celeriac.
For special occasions, a seafood tower (with oysters, scallop crudo, Ora King salmon gravlax, and mussels), 1.5-kilo Wagyu MB9+ tomahawk, or grilled Eastern Rock lobster with Pernod beurre blanc will set the scene.
The space—which was once a wool and textile store—has exposed sandstone walls and heritage flooring, original pillars, a 500-bottle wine room and 1000-bottle cellar (including an extensive Champagne collection), central seafood bar, and green booths and banquettes, all imparting a sense of history and grandeur that remains comfortable.
In addition to the main restaurant space, The Dining Room also has a standalone cocktail bar on level one where walk-in guests are welcome to enjoy a drink in a lounge-style setting from 4pm daily. The Dining Room is open for lunch and dinner daily—book online.
The Garden
A breakfast-to-nightcap offering with room for 100, The Garden is a casual, open-air dining and drinking space surrounded by beautiful heritage-listed buildings, nine decades-old olive trees, shady grass trees, and over 300 shrubs and perennials providing colour.
Breakfast, served until 11.30am, includes crab omelettes, old-school steak and eggs, or zucchini and corn fritters with bocconcini herb salad and hot sauce—and a bunch of breakfast-friendly cocktails.
The all-day menu kicks in from 12pm and packs easygoing staples like a Wagyu cheeseburger, fritto misto, and a king prawn roll, available until 6pm. In the evening, the space transitions into a bar-focused offering with seasonal fruit-led cocktails, a range of beers and ciders, and a neat selection of by-the-glass wines. The Garden is open from 7am daily, and doesn't take bookings.
Tailor Room
An intimate, 24-square-metre cocktail bar, Tailor Room serves a conceptual ‘Textures’ menu inspired by the building’s textile-housing past.
Each of the 10 signature cocktails are named for a corresponding fabric; there’s the Cotton (with vodka, Nigori sake, subtle raspberry and citrus notes, and a grapefruit and rosewater foam), and the Corduroy (a whisky-based cocktail with quince liqueur, honey and subtle spices).
A few classic martinis, wines by the glass, and The Collective’s broader cellar offering are also available, alongside a simple selection of bar snacks. The deep red space, contrasted against a checkerboard floor with a central statement chandelier offers a cosy, welcoming space for before- or after-dinner drinks. Tailor Room is open from 4pm seven days for walk-in guests.
See full menus for The Collective online.
Image credit: Hunter St Hospitality | Supplied