A Postcard from Sheridan

Sydneysiders have adopted the Italian custom of the "passeggiata", making use of spaces like the Finger Wharf, The Esplanade at Balmoral and The Colonnades to stroll up and down or to drink coffee and gaze at the harbour. The revolution in the food and wine scene which began in the mid-1980's triggered a design revolution in restaurants, cafes and bars. In many of these venues it is the designer's attention to light, space and view which is most apparent.

Davina Jackson, author of Australian Architecture Now and former editor of Architecture Australia, sees the increase in outdoor dining and the attention to light and views as evidence of Sydney discovering its own spirit of place and relinquishing the tradition of indoor dining inherited from Great Britain. "As late as the 1970s, most restaurants were arranged to have intimately enclosed dining rooms, with walls painted in dark colours to heighten the 'mood'. Today, many Sydney restaurants display the antithesis of 'mood'. Instead they are often intended to reflect the subtleties of landscape, harbour and weather conditions."

The open air dining rooms in Bali and other tropical Asian cities are the more recent influence, stimulating the adoption of folding glass doors and window seats with cushions. The focus, once inward, is now outward. Jackson notes that outdoor dining has now become a trend in the suburbs as well . For example "the historic city of Parramatta is gradually turning around many of its CBD office buildings to open to the formerly neglected river, with some developers adding new cafes with large outdoor terraces overlooking the water. This gesture will transform the style of the city within the next five years."


May 2003
On the Waterfront - Dining out in Sydney in the New Millennium You can take a water taxi from the Finger Wharf, or a ferry from Circular Quay, to Middle Harbour at Balmoral. They pull in beside the charming old-fashioned baths and as you walk along the boardwalk to the Esplanade, the glass-fronted Watermark Restaurant looks straight at you. An area for outdoor dining has been set aside here and is very popular whereas at Bather's Pavilion, a leisurely walk from Watermark, sadly the Council has not allowed outdoor dining. Built in 1921 by Mosman Council architect Alfred Hale as a beach changing shed, it is Spanish Mission in style with Moorish overtones. A Heritage Order was placed on the building in 1993. After a decade of controversy over what should be done with the building and intense opposition to modest development plans from residents, it stands gleaming and white with open vistas towards the Heads and over Middle Harbour. Three firms of architects were commissioned by part-owner Victoria Alexander (Alex Popov, Robert Moore and McConnell Rayner), but it is her stamp on the restaurant which is most apparent. A former advertising and Vogue stylist, Alexander has a flair for combining an eclectic array of furniture, fabrics, cloths and napkins including Early Australian furniture mixed with modern pieces. The colours and textures are based on a natural palate bringing in the surrounding sea, sky and park, mixed with strong blues and reds as contrast. Paintings by local artists Kerry Lester, Adrian Lockhart, Graeme Drendel and Jason Benjamin have been used throughout. Popov's cool Scandinavian Zen-minimalist sensibility and care for the effects of the light and space shine through. Part owner and chef Serge Dansereau offers up-market dining in the restaurant while in the cafe, more casual fare is available. Dining out in Sydney has undergone a dramatic change over the past fifteen years. Outdoor dining, especially around the harbour, has become very fashionable Council regulations which once restricted the placement of tables and chairs on pavements have gradually eased leading to a greater sense of community in the inner city and around the harbour.	Sydneysiders have adopted the Italian custom of the "passeggiata", making use of spaces like the Finger Wharf, The Esplanade at Balmoral and The Colonnades to stroll up and down or to drink coffee and gaze at the harbour. The revolution in the food and wine scene which began in the mid-1980's triggered a design revolution in restaurants, cafes and bars. In many of these venues it is the designer's attention to light, space and view which is most apparent. Davina Jackson, author of Australian Architecture Now and former editor of Architecture Australia, sees the increase in outdoor dining and the attention to light and views as evidence of Sydney discovering its own spirit of place and relinquishing the tradition of indoor dining inherited from Great Britain. "As late as the 1970s, most restaurants were arranged to have intimately enclosed dining rooms, with walls painted in dark colours to heighten the 'mood'. Today, many Sydney restaurants display the antithesis of 'mood'. Instead they are often intended to reflect the subtleties of landscape, harbour and weather conditions." The open air dining rooms in Bali and other tropical Asian cities are the more recent influence, stimulating the adoption of folding glass doors and window seats with cushions. The focus, once inward, is now outward. Jackson notes that outdoor dining has now become a trend in the suburbs as well . For example "the historic city of Parramatta is gradually turning around many of its CBD office buildings to open to the formerly neglected river, with some developers adding new cafes with large outdoor terraces overlooking the water. This gesture will transform the style of the city within the next five years." *return to current postcard*