Potts Point Institution Billy Kwong Will Close Its Doors Forever This Week
But it's not all bad news — chef and restaurateur Kylie Kwong plans to open a new, more casual eatery later in the year.
Over the last 19 years, Kylie Kwong's semi-eponymous Billy Kwong has not only fed a lot of Sydneysiders — it's been an integral part of the evolution of Sydney's dining scene. While diners have been chowing down on the restaurant's crispy saltbush cakes and steamed warrigal greens dumplings, other spots in the city — and the country — have too embraced locally grown foods, ethical practices and native Australian ingredients.
So it's no small deal that the restaurant is closing. After breaking the news to diners back in January, Kwong has today announced that she will close her Chinese-Australian restaurant forever this week. Last service will be this Sunday, June 30.
In a positive Instagram post published this morning, Kwong thanked "each and every one of the talented people who have worked at BK", as well as its customers, producers and partners.
It's not all bad news, though. The closure of Billy Kwong will make way for a brand new Sydney restaurant from the chef and restaurateur. Kwong revealed in January that she will open a "completely new dining concept" in collaboration with Adelaide furniture designer Khai Liew that celebrates her "unwavering love of food, family and connection to the broader community at large". While details are still vague, this new restaurant will keep the "essence" of Billy Kwong, but be more casual and smaller in size than the Potts Point restaurant. Expect more details around this to be announced in the coming months.
Kwong first opened Billy Kwong on Crown Street with Bill Granger back in 2000. She soon bought him out and later, in 2014, partnered with restaurateur David King to move the restaurant into a bigger (and grander) space in Potts Point. It's since become a Macleay Street mainstay and many loyal locals will be sad to see the restaurant — as well as Kwong, who is regularly seen on the floor with her long-serving restaurant manager Kin Chen — go.
Billy Kwong is just one of Sydney's major restaurants we're waving goodbye to this week — Acme in Rushcutters Bay and Surry Hills' Longrain are also in their last days of service.
Billy Kwong will be open for dinner every night this week — as well as lunch on Sunday — at 28 Macleay Street, Potts Point. It's last day of service is this Sunday, June 30. You can (try to) make a booking here.
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