Hartsyard's Dot Lee and Jarrod Walsh Have Opened Their New 80-Seat Seafood and Snack Restaurant Longshore

It's been a whirlwind time for Sydney's hospitality scene. This time last year, two of the city's favourite restaurants announced they'd be closing their doors within weeks of each other. First, it was Enmore Road's beloved neighbourhood diner Hartsyard, followed by Chippendale's longstanding hatted restaurant Automata. While it's always tough to see your favourites close, the dust has now settled with a host of exciting new opportunities springing forward from the turnover.

Automata's Clayton Wells is running Mod Dining at the Art Gallery of NSW and is now the Group Creativity Director (Culinary) at Public Hospitality, Hartsyard's Dot Lee and Jarrod Walsh have taken over the food and drink operations at The Old Clare and finally, Wells' old Automata digs have now been transformed into Longshore, Lee and Walsh's new seafood restaurant and wine bar.

The dining room has been given a makeover by design firm Guru Projects which maintains the sleek welcoming atmosphere that Automata boasted, welcoming up to 80 guests at a time for lunch and dinner. The menu can be approached from a few different angles, but the ideal way is to head in with an open mind and tackle one of the set menus that spotlights fresh and sustainable produce from both the sea and the land.

"We're thrilled to be opening Longshore and bringing the suburb's first wine bar and restaurant to Chippendale," says Walsh. "Our menu is inspired by coastal ingredients and techniques from around the world, and we're excited to showcase the best of what our local producers have to offer."

The centrepiece of the kitchen's offerings is an $80 experimental ten-course snack flight. If you're someone who loves to try a bit of everything, this is for you. Sample your way through the hot and cold elements of the menu including coral prawn tartlet with shellfish mayo, pickled Jervis Bay mussels, kangaroo tartare, glazed green lip abalone crumpets, Margra lamb ribs and salt and vinegar potato scallops.

There's also a more standard a la carte menu and a pair of larger tasting menus — a $150 five-course degustation for dinner or a $100 three-course set menu for lunch. Other highlights to keep an eye out for include cured yellowfish tuna, dry-aged swordfish steak with XO butter and Westholme wagyu tri-tip with bone marrow sauce.

As with Hartsyard, the drinks list is also integral to the Longshore experience. The wines focus on a diverse range of sustainable producers that make crisp drops destined to be paired with some fresh seafood. The cocktails also have a sustainable streak, like the strawberry old-fashioned which uses a zero-waste, house-infused strawberry whisky.

The open-plan dining room provides the best spot in the house, with prime views of the kitchen, but if you're on the hunt for somewhere in Chippendale to pop in to discover your next favourite wine paired with a few next-level snacks, there's also 12-seat al fresco area for short stays. Then, you can always head up to The Old Clare's rooftop bar for a poolside cocktail.

Jason Loucas

Longshore is located at 5 Kensington Street, Chippendale. It's now open for lunch Friday–Sunday and dinner Thursday–Saturday and Monday.

Images: Jason Loucas