W Sydney has unveiled a first look at its restaurant ahead of its opening in October 2023.
Located on level three of the building, BTWN will overlook Darling Harbour and the city’s sweeping expressways. Designed by Bowler James Brindley, the space’s interiors draw on the kinetic energy of their urban surroundings, embracing the property’s location alongside the flyover.
Inspired by airstream food trucks, a series of curvilinear, stainless-steel pods lead into the main dining space, while columns emblazoned with aerosol art by Sydney-based artist Sophi Odling echo the surrounding pylons, and graphic metallic screens reference Darling Harbour’s distinctive architecture. At nightfall, illuminated ribbon lighting traces the ceiling, evoking the city’s nightlights as if in a slow-exposure photograph.
With Head Chef Chris Dodd at the helm, the menus at BTWN are, like its graphic interiors, connected to their environment, emphasising locally-sourced ingredients. Menus range from small bites to substantial dishes, ingredient-first in their inspiration, with a strong focus on produce from “between the borders” in New South Wales.
As evening comes, a late-night dessert bar will offer sweet treats to guests. A collaboration between W Sydney and Singaporean dessert guru Janice Wong, 2AM: dessertbar will offer a selection of carefully-crafted desserts, including Cacao Forest, made with dulcey chocolate mousse, passionfruit chocolate and mango, and Cassis Plum, a cassis bombe served with elderflower yoghurt foam and choya granita with yuzu pearls.
“This is 2AM: dessertbar’s first foray into Australia and we are incredibly excited to collaborate with the team at BTWN Sydney,” says Wong. “One of the things that inspired me when I was starting out was Australia’s beautiful produce, so it is wonderful to be back here and working with Australian and native ingredients to present our specially curated, experiential desserts in the heart of Darling Harbour.”
