2. Reservations
For general reservations, contact our team on (02) 8277 8533, email reservations@kensingtonstreetsocial.com, or book online for up to 6 guests.
To reserve a table of 7 or more, please contact our reservations team directly.
Our reservation lines are open Monday – Friday 10am until 6pm, and Saturday 10am until 4pm.
Book a table
Opening hours
Breakfast
Monday-Friday 7am-1030am
Saturday 8am-1030am
Sunday 8am-10.30am
Please note; we do not take reservations for breakfast.
Lunch
Mon-Sat 12pm-230pm
Sunday Brunch 11am-230pm
Please note; Sunday Brunch reservations are taken from 12pm.
Dinner
Monday-Saturday 6pm-10pm
Sunday 6pm-8pm
4. People
JASON ATHERTON - THE SOCIAL TEAM
JASON ATHERTON – CULINARY DIRECTOR
Jason Atherton started out working alongside great chefs including Pierre Koffmann, Marco Pierre White, Nico Ladenis and Ferran Adria at el Bulli, before joining the Gordon Ramsay Group in 2001. After launching ‘Maze’ in London and overseeing the opening of five more ‘Maze’ restaurants globally, Jason left Gordon Ramsay Holdings to launch his own restaurant group, The Social Company.
His flagship restaurant ‘Pollen Street Social’ opened in April 2011 in Mayfair and was awarded a coveted Michelin star within just six months of opening. It was awarded 4 AA Rosettes by the AA Guide, named The Good Food Guide’s ‘Best New Restaurant’ and hailed the third best restaurant in the UK. Jason was awarded ‘Chef Of The Year’ by ‘Caterer and Hotelkeeper’, which for a chef, Jason has likened to winning an Oscar.
Four years on, Jason and The Social Company now have multiple restaurants worldwide, including the Michelin-starred Social Eating House, Little Social opposite Pollen Street Social, the acclaimed Berners Tavern - named ‘the defining restaurant of the decade’ - and City Social, which earned a Michelin star within six months of opening. His latest London opening was Social Wine & Tapas, a wine shop and tapas bar in Marylebone, which the Evening Standard called “Jason Atherton’s best yet”.
Alongside his London restaurants, Jason has taken the Asian dining scene by storm, opening 22 Ships, Ham & Sherry and Aberdeen Street Social in Hong Kong and The Commune Social and Table No.1 in Shanghai. In 2015, he launched his first stateside restaurant The Clocktower, an all-day dining space set within the New York EDITION Hotel; and Marina Social, a stunning waterside restaurant in Dubai. Kensington Street Social is his first Australian venture.
Jason is married to Irha Atherton who works alongside him as co-director at The Social Company. Irha also runs the head office in Soho, London. Jason and Irha have two daughters and the family live in South West London.
Charlie Barnett (Restaurant Manager), Robert Daniels (Executive Chef), Carli Weston (Head of Reservations), Michael Gavaghan (General Manager), Josef Murray (Restaurant Director), Lindsay Carr (Sommelier), Matt Fairhurst (Beverage Director)
TEAM
ROBERT DANIELS – HEAD CHEF, KENSINGTON STREET SOCIAL
Rob apprenticed in Sydney under Englishman Matt Flemming with short stints under Colin Fassnidge and Peter Doyle at Merivale’s flagship restaurant Est., before moving to London in 2003 and starting work with Gordon Ramsay Holdings at Boxwood Café. He joined Maze in 2005 working under Jason Atherton, and went on to work under Phil Carmichael at Maze in Prague, where they won a coveted Michelin star, going on to launch Maze at the One & Only in Cape Town. After Cape Town, Rob headed up Maze in Doha, Qatar as executive chef.
He returned to Australia in 2011 and joined Ryan Squires new restaurant Esquire in Brisbane, Queensland, winning 3 hats in the first year. Rob moved on to Wollongong, New South Wales to take the head chef position at Dunes, rebranding the restaurant as Rocksalt Bar and Grill, before joining hospitality group Merivale in Sydney working at Felix, Uccello and Coogee Pavilion. Rob joins Kensington Street Social as head chef, once again working with Jason.
MATT FAIRHURST – BEVERAGE DIRECTOR
Born and raised in London, Matt began his career in a number of assistant bar manager roles before taking up the role of bar manager at Harvey Nichols Nottingham in 2007, jumping across to Harvey Nichols Bristol in 2010. In 2011, he became general manager of cocktail bar The Milk Thistle, a speakeasy hidden within a four story historic townhouse in Bristol’s city centre. From there, Matt moved to London to become bar manager of the renowned cocktail bar Callooh Callay in Shoreditch, winner of World’s Best Cocktail Menu and ranked 9th Best Bar in the World. In 2014, he joined The Social Company as opening bar manager for Jason Atherton’s Great Gatbsy-esque City Social, awarded a Michelin star within six months of opening, where his playful and pun-filled cocktails garnered TimeOut’s Bar of the Week and 5/5 from Diffords Guide.
Matt has competed to finalist level in a number of prestigious cocktail competitions, most recently the Bacardi Legacy 2014-15, which saw him creating his cocktail ‘Tempting Fate’ 3209 feet above sea level on Scafell Pike, and was winner of the 2013 No.3 Gin National Competition.
Matt joins Kensington Street Social as Beverage Director, responsible for the drinks programme across the restaurant, The Clare bar and rooftop bar and is so far loving life in Sydney with his wife Emma.
MICHAEL GAVAGHAN – GENERAL MANAGER, KENSINGTON STREET SOCIAL
Born and raised in London, Michael has always had a strong passion for the hospitality industry and in his career has worked across a wide variety of venues including pubs, brasseries and fine-dining restaurants.
Michael spent the early, formative years of his career with Gordon Ramsay Holdings where he launched three of the group’s restaurants; The Devonshire, Foxtrot Oscar and The Warrington. He began his time with the group in front of house management and gradually transitioned into operational management.
Following his time with Gordon Ramsay, Michael launched one of London’s most acclaimed venues of 2012, The Riding House Café, with Village London Central, which won Best Front of House Team 2012 in the Tatler Awards. In 2012, Michael was appointed General Manager of D&D London’s Blueprint Café and was responsible for re-launching and repositioning the venue as a London style-icon.
Michael moved to Sydney in in early 2014 and took on the role of General Manager at the re-launched Gazebo, a flagship venue of award-winning hospitality group The Keystone Group. Michael was involved in the early planning stages ahead of the October 2014 re-launch of a much-loved Sydney favourite. Michael also spent time at Surry Hills The Winery, taking on the role of General Manager for Kensington Street Social in 2015.
JOSEF MURRAY – RESTAURANT DIRECTOR, KENSINGTON STREET SOCIAL
Josef Murray, a New Zealander, brings to Kensington Street Social a high-level of front-of-house expertise having worked at restaurants in Auckland, London, Hong Kong and Sydney in his fifteen-year career.
Josef’s career began in Auckland, working in two of the cities most reputable fine-dining establishments CinCin on Quay and Clooney Restaurant. At Clooney Restaurant, Josef initially took the role as head waiter and was soon offered position of Restaurant Bar Manager, overseeing a 500 bin wine list and creating one of NZ’s most talked about cocktail lists.
In 2008, Josef moved to Sydney where he led a team of thirty-five at Wildfire Restaurant, before moving to London in 2011 to work for Jason Atherton at Pollen Street Social. Joseph was the head waiter in the opening team at Pollen Street Social. Josef had a brief stint back in New Zealand working at Michael Meredith’s Meredith Restaurant as Assistant Manager.
In 2013, Josef moved to Hong Kong to be Restaurant Manager at Jason Atherton’s 22 Ships and Ham and Sherry, before being quickly made General Manager.
6. Press
10.05.16
Despite our foodie culture and obsession with cooking shows, Australia’s hospitality industry is chewing up and spitting out more than 50 per cent of its apprentice chefs every year. Luke Mangan, the convener of Inspired Series which provides hospitality skill sessions for commercial cookery and hospitality students, persuaded Quay and Bennelong chef Peter Gilmore, Marque and Pei Modern chef (and former electrician) Mark Best and Brit Jason Atherton to address more than 60 TAFE students this week in the hope that talking about the future of the industry will help them stay in the job. Atherton says the explosion in the number of accessible restaurants mean that once apprentices do make their way through TAFE, they should be particular about the kitchen they want to work in to ensure longevity in their chosen career. “You want to make sure you get the kitchen that is right for you. To teach you what you want. Don't just go there because the chef sounds really cool and he is doing crazy stuff with foams or whatever. Go there because they are going to give you what you want and improve your skill set.” read more
06.05.16
Broadsheet
Two of Kensington Street Social’s best bartenders will go head-to-head against two of the Clare’s best bartenders in this World Class Cocktail Week event.
The bartenders from each venue will work together to create three special cocktails – Kensington Street Social will use Ketel One vodka, Clare Bar will work with Tanqueray gin. The team that sells the most cocktails wins. Anything goes. Cocktails are $40 for three, but can also be purchased individually.
From 5pm. read more
05.05.16
Best Australian hotels for food: Six of the best.
Following a multi-million dollar overhaul, the famous Old Clare in Chippendale in Sydney's Inner West is new again. The heritage aspects have been retained in an imaginative refurb that now houses not only a funky 62-room 5 Star boutique hotel but one of Sydney's most avant-garde dining precincts in a single building.
The Old Clare is home to no fewer than three top-end eateries, all run by clever and innovative chefs and all in high demand. Clayton Wells, whose CV includes stints at Momofuku Seiobo and Quay runs Automata, which offers a five course degustation with optional wine pairing in an industrial-chic décor. At Silvereye, Sam Miller - a former executive sous chef at Noma in Copenhagen - brings finesse and balance to his 'long tasting menu', another delightful degustation, while Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton heads up Kensington Street Social with creative Mediterranean share plates and a la carte options.
Star Rating: 5 Star
Travellers' Rating: 8.9 /10 [Very Good] read more
27.04.16
If any chef has itchy feet it would have to be Jason Atherton. Since living in London, I have been eagerly following Atherton’s journey and foray into the international dining scene with The Social Company. The journey began in April 2011 when he opened his flagship restaurant, the Pollen Street Social in Mayfair, which was awarded a coveted Michelin star within just six months of opening. His career has since gone from strength to strength, adding more strings to his bow including the Michelin- starred Social Eating House, Little Social, Berners Tavern and the City Social.
But if that wasn’t enough, Atherton has recently taken the Asian dining scene by storm opening 22 Ships, Ham & Sherry and Aberdeen Street Social in Hong Kong; and The Commune Social and Table No.1 in Shanghai. In 2015, he launched his first stateside restaurant, The Clocktower, an all-day dining space set within the New York EDITION Hotel, and Marina Social, a stunning waterside restaurant in Dubai. read more
24.04.16
How brunch has gone from eggs on toast to gourmet feast. Michelin-starred British chef Jason Atherton’s first Sydney restaurant, Kensington Street Social, serves a starter on its dinner menu called the English breakfast tea and toast: pieces of toast topped with dollops of bone marrow served with tiny cups of aerated Parmesan and mushroom broth poured from a teapot. Meanwhile, the cocktail list includes a Vegemite-infused dirty gin martini and the Hipster Breakfast: banana-bread infused rum, salted buttermilk syrup, cold-drip coffee and Fernet-Branca served in a ceramic mug. But don’t order too many — you probably made plans for breakfast the next morning. read more
15.04.16
They say it started at Momofuku. Or perhaps it's just a throwback to public bars down the ages. Love it or hate it, there's no doubt that eating on stools – even while you're sitting at a table – is trending up in Australian restaurants.
And it's not takeaway-style restaurants leading the charge, with fine dining experiences now up on stilts.
"It's about being social," Kensington Street Social executive chef Rob Daniels said.
"It gives diners the chance to look in and see what is going on in the kitchen. As chefs there is nowhere to hide. This form of dining gives a great vibe and chefs can interact with diners." read more
06.04.16
Vogue Australia
This is where you’ll be partying during Australian Fashion Week. Expect to see a slew of fashion types noshing on organic morning muesli at Jason Atherton’s Kensington Street Social, sipping single origin coffee at Glider across the street and conducting street style shoots within the photogenic confines of Spice Alley’s noodle-filled nooks. And of course, there’s the dark and cozy Clare Bar in the hotel lobby (and, weather permitting, a pretty killer rooftop bar), so there will be plenty of opportunity for juicy fashion week fodder to brew over a stiff cocktail to two.
read more
23.02.16
Michelin-starred U.K. chef Jason Atherton's first Sydney restaurant launched in January 2016, beside sister stay the Old Clare Hotel in Chippendale. A relaxed all-day diner, Kensington Street Social is open from breakfast to lunch and dinner, with lofty ceilings and an inviting industrial-sleek design. The food focus is on British-Mediterranean dishes drawing on quality Australian produce. Atherton's successful eateries range from Hong Kong's Aberdeen Street Social to London's Pollen Street Social and the Clocktower in New York, so expect big things. read more
20.02.16
We’ve been excited about Kensington Street Social opening for months! We’ve been fans of UK (Michelin starred) Chef Jason Atherton for a while now, after falling in love with his establishments in Singapore (Pollen and Esquina) and 22 Ships in Hong Kong (as featured in our Foodies Guide to Hong Kong).
Kensington Street Social is Jason’s first foray into the Australian market and he has chosen a location inside The Old Clare Hotel in Chippendale to open it in.
The interior of Kensington Street Social has an industrial feel, with high ceilings and concrete pillars and an open kitchen gives diners a glimpse into their kitchen secrets. The vibe is relaxed.
read more
17.02.16
The final restaurant to occupy the recently renovated, heritage-listed, Old Clare Hotel has opened. And Kensington Street Social is pushing the boundaries when it comes to cocktails and food.
Five days after KSS first opened it was packed. It seemed every foodie in Sydney was eager to try this new restaurant on the Friday night my friends and I decided to dine. Luckily they’d made a booking as I’m told even Monday’s are crowded, according to my friend who’s been trying to get a booking for a few weeks.
So what’s drawing Sydney siders to this new Chippendale precinct?
It could be their Culinary Director and British Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton. He’s worked alongside international chefs including Pierre Koffmann, Marco Pierre White, Nico Ladenis and Ferran Adria at el Bulli, before joining the Gordon Ramsay Group in 2001. This is his first Australian venture and he’s built a strong team of chefs including former Manly Pavillion Executive Chef Robert Daniels. read more
16.02.16
The Centennial Parklands culinary festival has had a significant revamp this year, with a host of young and important new chefs joining the event. Those showcasing their food include Firedoor’s Lennox Hastie, Nelly Robinson of nel., Salaryman’s Stephen Seckold, Kensington Street Social’s Rob Daniels, Sake’s Wayne Brown, and Thievery’s Julian Cincotta. Returning chefs include Darren Robertson of Three Blue Ducks, Otto’s Richard Ptacnik, Biota’s James Viles, 4Fourteen’s Colin Fassnidge, Movida’s Frank Camorra, celebrity chef Hayden Quinn and Porteno’s Elvis Abrahanowicz and Ben Milgate. read more
02.02.16
Open daily for breakfast through to dinner, modern Mediterranean share plates showcase raw, cured and cooked local produce with a fusion of indigenous Australian and Japanese flavours. Expect kangaroo, Wagyu beef and Moreton Bay bugs plus accents of lemon myrtle, wattle seed, wasabi and miso. The creaminess of Atherton’s slow-cooked hen’s egg mixed with chewy roasted corn and the sharp tang of crisp seaweed, Parmesan, sage crumbs and roasted chicken scratchings best demonstrates his sublime textural pairings. read more
At the heart of business partner Loh Lik Peng's Old Clare Hotel, the concrete-clad, high-ceilinged, metallic-edged, glass-louvred space designed by Shanghai's acclaimed Neri & Hu gathers around a central island kitchen swarming with 10 white-jacketed chefs. There are five metres of counter seating, alongside bare-backed wooden tables set with sleek stemware and slim cutlery cleverly mounted in handsome brass stands.
Service might still be in headless-chook mode, but the very practised kitchen is acing it already. Atherton (here for three weeks, then off to open his next in London) and Australian-born executive chef, Rob Daniels, leave no button un-pressed with a high/low menu that straddles snacks, flatbreads and hot dogs alongside more upscale dishes. read more
26.01.16
Australia’s first Jason Atherton restaurant, Kensington Street Social, will be run by an Aussie with extensive experience in the Atherton-Gordon Ramsay fold. Robert Daniels, running the kitchen at Atherton’s Singapore restaurant Esquina, will be home next week to open Social at the Old Clare, the new boutique hotel development in Sydney’s Chippendale by Singaporean hotel entrepreneur and restaurateur Peng Loh. The businessman already has ties with Atherton in Asia. Daniels apprenticed in Sydney with Colin Fassnidge and Peter Doyle before moving to London in 2003 to work with Ramsay at Boxwood Cafe. read more
25.01.16
Ahh the Sunday lunch. What a better way to celebrate the second weekend day before going back to work than by sitting down with friends and eating and drinking all the food. And at Chippendale's newest restaurant Kensington Street Social, British chef Jason Atherton's first Sydney restaurant, they deliver great brunch and whimsical touches. I've visited Aberdeen Street Social in Hong Kong but this is different sort of space. Located within the Old Clare Hotel we see staff whizz by with cloche laden trays, presumably for room service guests upstairs. There is an open kitchen, stripped back walls and plenty of bar seating. While Jason Atherton isn't there, the head chef Tony Gibson and executive chef Robert Daniels are. read more
21.01.16
Our restaurant critics' picks of the latest and best eats around the country right now: Kensington Street Social, Sydney.
Pizza-like flatbreads or pork-and-fennel hotdogs and Patrick Sullivan's inky, seductive pinot noir by the glass at the bar ahead of the movies? Easy. Ten courses and a magnum of blaufränkisch for lunch? Done. Breakfast or supper or anything in between? You got it.
This is a big machine, make no mistake, and not all the transactions are frictionless. Some attempts at local colour fall flat: a septic-looking Vegemite Martini (the regrettable outlier on the otherwise impressive cocktail roster), a small swatch of hapuku lost in a jumble of cauliflower-cheese purée, gin and seaweed under a sail of kohlrabi. (Why?) read more
15.01.16
Neri & Hu have created a Sydney outpost for Jason Atherton’s growing restaurant empire inside a former brewery.
Kensington Street Social opened this week inside The Old Clare Hotel, housed within the listed Carlton United Brewery building in the city’s Chippendale area.
‘People say Chippendale is like the Shoreditch of Sydney,’ the Michelin-starred chef told Australia’s Good Foodsite. ‘I want it to be fun eating here.’
Like the industrial aesthetic of many Shoreditch haunts, Kensington Street Social’s design pays tribute to its building’s heritage. Shanghai-based Neri&Hu have left many of the brewery’s original features, including concrete pillars and exposed brickwork, on show. read more
14.01.16
First look: Jason Atherton's Kensington Street Social, The Old Clare Hotel, Sydney.
Kensington Street Social is the first Australian restaurant from UK super-chef Jason Atherton. On the first day of service, we take a look at the latest restaurant to join The Old Clare Hotel in Chippendale. read more
13.01.16
"I'm so excited to be opening my first restaurant in Sydney," says Atherton. "I'm all about sourcing the best produce, and here the ingredients are just incredible – Australian black truffles, the seafood – so I'm looking forward to using them to reinterpret a few of the signature dishes from my London restaurants."
"I’ve had many Australian chefs in my brigade over the years, including my executive chef Rob and pastry chef Adrian Crabb, so it seemed like a natural step to come to Sydney and get the team back together." read more
11.01.16
Atherton’s British heritage is also evident on the menu. English Breakfast tea and toast is a play on tea and toast with wild mushroom tea served in a teapot with relish and bone marrow toast. Moreton Bay bug tail with lemon and bottarga and Zokoko alto beni soufflé with macadamia ice-cream all feature. Holy Goat La lunagoats cheese also appears, served with pickled fennel, bitter orange jam and cress. The breakfast menu will offer healthy options including organic seed and grain oatmeal porridge, pineapple, chilli and mint and lightly smoked flathead baked omelette, bacon and spring onion. read more
09.01.16
“Everything I do is organic; I don’t have some sort of contrived strategy about world domination,” laughs Atherton, the cool celebrity chef many have dubbed the new — and much nicer — Gordon Ramsay. It’s not a moniker the new owner of Sydney’s newest cool restaurant — Kensington Street Social, which opens in Sydney next Wednesday — particularly likes, despite being Ramsay’s brightest protege and top chef for nine years. But where Ramsay’s global network of 30 restaurants was carefully planned as a money-making venture to capitalise on the swearing chef’s TV fame, Atherton says that the string of restaurants he has opened since winning his first Michelin star in London in 2011 have all happened more by chance. “I never really planned to open a restaurant in Sydney; it’s not like I deliberately go to a city and start searching for a site,” Atherton said. “But it’s that organic thing again; the time is right and it feels the natural thing to do. I’ve been coming to Sydney for seven or eight years now, a lot of my chef friends live here now and the produce in Australia is second to none.” Atherton follows in the footsteps of other British celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver, Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal, who last year brought his multi-starred Fat Duck restaurant to Crown Melbourne for six months. But Atherton says his restaurant in inner-city hipster Chippendale at the boutique Old Clare Hotel is no pop-up shop or hands-off operation. He intends to be around for the long haul, flying into Sydney every three months between visits to his other restaurants in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Dubai. read more
08.01.16
"The first thing I said to the designer is 'I want the front windows of the restaurant to open to the lane'," says Atherton. "When I think of my visits here places open up and engage the outside. We've been working on this restaurant for a really long time [Good Food broke news of its planning back in 2013]. Australia is one of the few places in the world where you have access to really great ingredients, so we want to use them." The chef points to the marron tails he's sourced, which he says are sweeter and softer than anything similar he'd find in colder northern hemisphere waters. read more
06.01.16
UK chef Jason Atherton is a productive man. In the past five years he’s opened more than 15 restaurants in five different cities. He’s had Michelin stars and international awards showered on him like confetti. This month he’s coming to Sydney with Kensington Street Social, a cafe, restaurant and bar hybrid in Chippendale’s Old Clare Hotel.
“You can come and use it for whatever you want,” says Atherton. “You can come and spend $15 or you can spend $100. This is what this restaurant is about.” Visually it’s somewhere in the middle, with a fit-out that seems to effectively marry the aesthetics of a dilapidated warehouse and an old but classy hotel lobby. read more
22.12.15
Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton, of London restaurants including Pollen Street Social, Social Eating House and City Social, is to open his first Australian venue on 13 January 2016.
The 120-cover, two-storey Kensington Street Social will open at the Old Clare hotel in Chippendale, Sydney, in partnership with Loh Lik Peng, director of global boutique hotel and restaurant group the Unlisted Collection.
Open seven days a week, it will serve British-Mediterranean-inspired food all day from executive chef Rob Daniels, with whom Atherton has already worked on openings such as Maze London and Maze One & Only Cape Town.
The menu will be designed around flexible dining, sharing plates and snacks, including flatbreads, fish and shellfish, and raw and cured options. There will also be a range of cocktails and a list of Australian wines from beverage director Matt Fairhurst, from London’s City Social. read more
Kensington Street Social will open at The Old Clare Hotel on 13 January 2016 an follows openings in New York and Dubai this year as well as restaurants in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai before them.
Atherton is opening Kensington Street Social in partnership with Loh Lik Peng, director of boutique hotel and restaurant group ‘Unlisted Collection’. read more
Feast Magazine
Highlights from the all day menu include ‘English Breakfast tea and toast’ – a play on tea and toast with wild mushroom tea served in a teapot with relish and bone marrow toast; marinated salmon, tatsoi salad, chilli, wasabi ponzu; sea urchin risotto, Moreton Bay bug tail, lemon, bottarga; and Zokoko alto beni soufflé with macadamia ice-cream. Cheese will have a starring role on Atherton and Daniels’ menu with a number of cheese dishes including Aussie favourite Holy Goat La luna goats cheese being served with pickled fennel, bitter orange jam and cress. The breakfast menu will offer innovative and healthy options including organic seed and grain oatmeal porridge, pineapple, chilli and mint and lightly smoked flathead baked omelette, bacon and spring onion. read more
Designed by Shanghai-based Neri & Hu and executed by Matt Darwon, the sophisticated contemporary design will draw on the industrial heritage of the restaurant’s location within the former Carlton United Brewery building. Kensington Street Social will be split across two levels, with concrete finishes echoing Chippendale’s vibrant urban landscape.
read more
Designed by Shanghai-based Neri & Hu and executed by Matt Darwon, the sophisticated contemporary design will draw on the industrial heritage of the restaurant’s location within the former Carlton United Brewery building. Kensington Street Social will be split across two levels, with concrete finishes echoing Chippendale’s vibrant urban landscape.
Atherton’s The Social Company, headed locally by British general manager Michael Gavaghan, formerly of Gordon Ramsay’s Claridges and well-known Sydney venue The Gazebo, are looking after all food and beverage at The Old Clare Hotel including room service, The Clare bar and Rooftop Pool and Bar. The Social Company has a reputation for creating world-class bars, with The Blind Pig recently awarded Best International Restaurant Bar at the Spirited Awards 2015, and The Clare bar has already been nominated for TimeOut Sydney’s Best New Bar.
Kensington Street Social is the third venue to open within The Old Clare Hotel, joining Automata and Silvereye in what is fast becoming Sydney’s most-exciting restaurant precinct. read more
17.12.15
Sydney will become another star in British chef Jason Atherton's culinary constellation when his Kensington Street Social opens in The Old Clare Hotel on January 13. Yep, just when you thought Chippendale's snazziest destination couldn't fit in another eatery, the hotel has managed to loosen its belt for one, final mouthful.
The Social is the third venue to open at The Old Clare, and will be keeping the esteemed company of degustation extraordinaire Automata and Silvereye's deluxe open-plan kitchen. Of the three, it'll be the biggest (with 120 seats) and the most casual. An all-day menu will invite diners to eat any way they like, whether they're after a snack and a matching cocktail or a mega, multi-course feast with premium wines. read more
Enter Kensington Street Social- the latest, and largest, restaurant to open at The Old Clare Hotel's boutique Chippendale digs. It's headed up by British Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton - the guy behind Pollen Street Social in Mayfair and City Social (both of which were awarded Michelin stars just six months after opening), the famed Berners Tavern in Soho and the more recent Social Wine & Tapas in Marylebone. Atherton's Sydney offering, Kensington Street Social (we're sensing a trend here), will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, with an all-day brunch on Sundays. The food sounds out of this world - from the English Breakfast tea and toast, consisting of wild mushroom tea served in a teapot with relish and bone marrow on toast (so British!) to the smoked flathead omelette and Mediterranean-influenced share plates. read more
Atherton will be culinary director of the new Sydney venue, while Rob Daniels will be executive chef. The pair have worked together on a number of restaurants over the past 12 years, including Maze London and Maze One & Only Cape Town.
Atherton said, “I’m so excited to be opening my first restaurant in Sydney. I’m all about sourcing the best produce, and here the ingredients are just incredible – Australian black truffles, the seafood – so I’m looking forward to using them to reinterpret a few of the signature dishes from my London restaurants. I’ve had many Australian chefs in my brigade over the years, including my executive chef Rob and pastry chef Adrian Crabb, so it seemed like a natural step to come to Sydney and get the team back together.“ read more
16.12.15
It's already been one of the liveliest openings Sydney has seen this year. The Old Clare Hotel continues to take shape, preparing for the opening of it's third restaurant following Automata and Silvereye, Jason Atherton's Kensington Street Social. The recently re-opened boutique hotel has become quite the destination for food and drink lovers across the city, helped along by it's classy street-level bar and rooftop pool-bar. Atherton, a British Michelin-starred Chef who has enjoyed opening in New York and Dubai this year, will open Kensington Street Social on January 13th in partnership with Loh Lik Peng, who is the Director of global boutique hotel and restaurant group Unlisted Collection. It will be the largest of the three Old Clare Hotel restaurants, with capacity for 120 seated guests. The exciting restaurant will be open seven days a week and offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with a special brunch menu on Sundays. read more
15.12.15
The first Sydney-based culinary venture from British Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton is now open. It's been built as part of a major revamp of the Old Clare Hotel... and sits within the new Kensington Street Precinct. Tony Gibson, previously of Manly Pavilion, is in charge of the kitchen as head chef, with Robert Daniels as executive chef. The 118-seat space is serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. read more
Australia's hottest new restaurants 2015:
British chef Jason Atherton opens his eighth global restaurant at the Old Clare in Chippendale early in 2016, with a contemporary European focus. read more
Kensington Street Social will follow a pattern developed by Atherton, who runs a series of “Social” restaurants around the world, including in Dubai and Singapore.
Daniels says the model is “premium casual”, with a large shared-plate menu offering dishes from snacks priced from $8 to mains priced under $40.
“It’s not about doing a carbon copy of restaurants (in the Social Group),” he says. “We’re our own business.” Dishes on the opening menu include sea urchin risotto and Moreton Bay bug with lemon and bottarga. read more
14.12.15
Sydney's restaurant year will start with a bang next month with the opening of the much-anticipated Kensington Street Social on January 13. The restaurant, fronted by UK celebrity chef and Gordon Ramsay protege Jason Atherton, will be the third venue to open at Chippendale’s Old Clare development, following in the footsteps of Silvereye and Automata. The 120-seat restaurant will have a modern European menu, with food showing British and Mediterranean influences. Executive chef Rob Daniels, an Australian who worked for Atherton in London, says Kensington Street Social has been carefully designed to avoid the pitfalls suffered by other British imports to Australia, including the Ramsay-backed Maze, launched in Melbourne in 2010. The venue closed a year later after being labelled “unsustainable”. read more
