Overview
Darling Square's new food precinct is continuing to expand in advance of its April grand opening, with an additional five eateries joining the ranks in the newly formed Steam Mill Lane. The district — which will occupy the previously dead space between UTS and the ICC — has now signed on a Japanese izakaya, a Greek gyro shop, a sandwich eatery, a matcha cafe and a Sichuan rice house.
First up is BangBang, which will attempt to bring a bit of Tokyo's Shinjuku district to the laneway. With ex-Nobu Tokyo chef Kokubo Yuji at the helm, the restaurant will offer up ramen and curry alongside a Kabukicho-style whisky and craft beer bar. It will also have a soundproof neon-lit karaoke room.
It will be joined by Bexley's much-loved Gyradiko, which will be serving up legit Greek pork gyros — and only pork gyros. This means no lamb, beef or even hummus and tabouleh. It's mainly a takeaway joint, though there will be a few tables for dine-in. Also pleasing the takeaway lunch crowd will be Surry Hills' The Sandwich Shop, which will open its second location here. It'll be turning out its usual quality sandwiches using organic sourdough, house-made sauces and meats roasted in-store. Diners can also sit-in for breakfast, salads and coffee.
Matcha-Ya will provide an alternative to coffee — it'll be sourcing their matcha powder from Japan, so you can expect some serious green tea brews, along with a full matcha menu including lattes, fondue, parfait and soft serve. This matcha-mania will be accompanied by savoury dishes, served for lunch and dinner.
And to round out the bunch, the teams behind Two Sticks, Bun Gallery and Kobe Wagyu Yakiniku are bringing you Ricefields, a Sichuan rice eatery. It's of course based around the cuisine's numbing chilli, with a specific focus on preserved ingredients through pickling, salting and drying.
The five eateries will open in April alongside Melbourne's 8Bit and Sydney's Fishbowl, Belles Hot Chicken, Edition Coffee Roasters and Marrickville Pork Roll. They'll join Toby's Estate, which has been operating at Darling Square since July 2017.
These ten eateries will sit within the precinct's 8000 square metres of new retail space, which will eventually house approximately 80 new restaurants, cafes and shops. Darling Square has direct access to to Darling Harbour via The Goods Line and is part of Lendlease's 20-hectare development around the area — along with ICC Sydney and Sofitel Darling Harbour.
The precinct has already locked in some pretty big names — but even though Darling Square will house around 2500 CommBank employees, 3000 residents and 1300 students, it will be interesting to see how the new area flourishes, especially considering its proximity to Barangaroo. Of course, there are plenty of top-notch eateries operating in Haymarket — use our handy day and night guide to check them out.
Steam Mill Lane is set to open to the public in April 2018. We'll keep you updated on an exact opening date and further details.