Hartsyard's Owners Are Moving on From the Beloved Venue and Heading to The Old Clare in Chippendale

Renowned Enmore Road eatery Hartsyard is saying goodbye to its owners, with Dorothy Lee and Jarrod Walsh set to begin a new culinary adventure in the coming months. The Inner West venue's loss is The Old Clare's gain, with the pair heading to the historic Chippendale hotel.

Lee and Walsh have been at the helm of the restaurant since they took over from previous owners Gregory Llewellyn and Naomi Hart in 2018. Under the guidance of Lee and Walsh, the restaurant cemented itself as a Newtown favourite with casual fine dining centred around char-grilled delights.

Lee told Concrete Playground that new owners expected to take over Hartsyard on Enmore Road; however, nothing has been locked in yet, and the venue will close in late August until a fresh set of custodians can take the reins.

Hartsyard fans need not to worry, though, as the duo will bring favourites from the Hartsyard menu and a range of exciting new dishes to multi-space hotel and rooftop bar The Old Clare. The move to The Old Clare will see them revamp the food and drink offerings across both the hotel's ground-floor watering hole The Clare Bar and its popular poolside rooftop bar.

The Old Clare Rooftop

Lee also revealed that they would eventually be expanding The Old Clare's hospitality offerings into a new space next to neighbouring venue and Walsh's former workplace Automata.

"We have always said Hartsyard is our little playground, I mean, we have had Soo MUCH FUN!" [sic] a message from the pair on Instagram stated. "It's time for us to move forward to create something new and exciting for all of you."

If you'd like to experience Hartsyard under the guidance of Lee and Walsh, you still have two more months, with the duo's final service at the restaurant set for Monday, August 29. Until then, the a la carte menu will be reduced and a best-of tasting menu traversing some of chef- and fan-favourite dishes from the past four years of Hartsyard, for $120 per person.

Head to Hartsyard's website to reserve your spot.

Steven Woodburn

Hartsyard is located at 33 Enmore Road, Newtown. It's currently open from 6pm Friday–Monday. Dorothy Lee and Jarrod Walsh's last service at the restaurant will take place on Monday, August 29.