Big plans revealed for Sydney’s beloved The Argyle

• Hunter St Hospitality will transform former nightclub The Argyle into the heart of The Collective.
• The new conceptual dining precinct will bring three new restaurants as well as several new bars and smaller spaces.
• Existing restaurants like The Cut Bar & Grill and Saké will also form part of The Collective.
• READ MORE: The world’s best restaurant is coming to Sydney.

For years, not much has been happening with the cobblestoned streets of The Rocks. But an ambitious new dining precinct is hoping to elevate Sydney’s most historic neighbourhood.

One of the biggest trends emerging out of Sydney’s dynamic dining scene has hospitality groups curating entire precincts. Martin Place’s The International (The Point Group), Redfern’s Wunderlich Lane (TFE Hotels), Sofitel Sydney Wentworth’s dining scene (House Made Hospitality), and Prefecture 48 (Azabu Group) are just some examples of this obvious movement. The latest could be Sydney’s most important play yet, with a complete, overdue transformation of The Rocks on the cards.

The ambitious new precinct is conceived as The Collective, an initiative from Hunter St Hospitality that’ll tie its existing venues like The Cut Bar & Grill and Saké into a suite of new drinking and dining experiences at former nightclub The Argyle.

When Hunter St Hospitality announced in December that Sydney’s most famous nightclub would be ditching the late-night dancefloors and chaotic club nights to become a multifaceted hospitality hub, many locals decried the death of the city’s nightlife. But such doom and gloom is unfounded; this is clearly a play at the more refined, sophisticated dining scene that Sydney’s most historic district has been yearning for.

Come April, The Argyle’s transportive sandstone frame will mark an energetic scene of three restaurants—The Garden, The Dining Room and Cloakroom—four bars and several smaller spaces both inside and around the heritage building. The result should be a complete overhaul of how Sydneysiders and visitors view The Rocks, elevating the area’s culinary offerings considerably with distinctive, design-forward spaces.

It’s clear that Hunter St Hospitality want to make this landmark project a new era for The Rocks. This will be done by stitching together a number of ideas and atmospheres, from The Garden’s leafy Parisian feel, billed as a courtyard restaurant that shifts from cafe to bar throughout the day to The Dining Room’s stately elegance, where a locally focused menu will tell the story of Australia’s finest produce.

The Dining Room is the new signature offering for the precinct; a 200-seat showstopper fashioned by the same team behind some of Sydney’s most consistent restaurants including Rockpool and The Cut. It’s being treated with a similar level of refinement, dealing in dishes like black lip abalone with bottarga and black rice, and yellowfin tuna with blood plum and celery, as well as signatures like a 1-kilogram Robbins Island wagyu ribeye.

While The Dining Room will have its own two bars, simply titled The Lounge and The Bar, The Argyle will also host a smaller 20-seat cocktail lounge called Cloakroom. This will be a more conceptual cocktail experience, leaning into its exclusivity with warm mood lighting and a signature martini menu.

“Hospitality precincts are having a moment in Sydney, and I believe their appeal will only grow,” stated Hunter St. Hospitality CEO Frank Tucker when asked about the origin of The Collective.

“With an 1800-square-metre footprint spread across three levels, we saw an opportunity to create something even more special with the properties we already have.”

“Each venue offers something unique, from casual dining to premium experiences, making The Collective as appealing to tourists exploring the area as it is for corporate and Sydneysiders.”

The Collective will open in April.

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