Surry Hills is getting a free (weekly) laneway pizza party led by Sydney’s best chefs

As Ace Hotel Sydney’s first-ever culinary director, Isobel Whelan-Little has already heightened the hotel’s hold on the local community. First, the hip-by-design property overhauled its rooftop restaurant. moving on from Mitch Orr’s work spearheading Kiln to welcome ex-Noma chef Beau Clugston to the fold. Now, she’s introducing Sunday Arvos as a new form of daytime social dining emerges.

In this age of coffee raves and daytime matching parties, more creatives and curators are starting to think of how we spice up the sunnier hours of the day. It’s all well and good that Sydney is focusing heavily on improving its nightlife offerings, but if we get more fun things to do during the day, we’re well on our way to becoming a true 24-hour city.

That’s why Sunday Arvos is such an exciting idea. Whelan-Little is going to start a roster of close chef collaborations for the food-led sessions, which are penciled in every few weeks from October 5 in the hotel’s Good Chemistry courtyard. They’ll be firing up two Gozney Dome XL Gen 2 ovens for the first edition, welcoming in Luke Powell (from LP’s Quality Meats) to craft simple pies with toppings like pepperoni with ricotta and honey, and potato with rosemary.

Chef-driven gatherings were starting to become more commonplace around Sydney in the years leading up to the pandemic, so it’s great to see a hotel attempt to bring that casual vibe back to give locals and visitors a bit more variety on Sunday afternoons.

The Sunday Arvos schedule is stacked with big names from Sydney’s pizza scene. Drew Huxton from Pizza Oltra leads the charge on November 2, Baba’s Place’s Jean Paul El Tom comes through on November 30, and Ellie Bouhadana wraps up the season on January 18.

The hotel and this impressive chef lineup should help rebuild a culture of frequent collaboration, which aligns with the culinary trends of major food cities like San Francisco and Vancouver. These kinds of loosely drawn events typically means more freedom and experimentation for each of these chefs. And given the pedigree, we’re expecting to see both arrestingly simple and wildly out-there pizza toppings as the series keeps rolling across the summer season.

Plus, it’s cool to see a luxury hotel start to use different spaces in ways to better engage with the local community. There aren’t many hotels around Sydney with a laneway that’s perfectly formed to host events, so hopefully this leads to a new kind of event space for more than just Sunday afternoon pizza sessions.

Sunday Arvos run from 3pm to 7pm with free entry via online RSVP.

Sunday Arvos at Ace Hotel Sydney

Where: 47-53 Wentworth Ave, Sydney 
When: Every few Sundays from October 5
Price: Free with online RSVP