Teddy

Overview

When the innovative, colourful, much-lauded Raja announced it was closing in May 2024, it came as a shock to the many who had visited and loved the modern Indian diner (this scribe included). Like far too many Sydney hospitality businesses in recent memory, economic headwinds had laid low an outstanding venue little more than a year after it had opened, despite it earning stacks of glowing reviews and Best New Restaurant gongs.

This, however, was not the end. While the decor, the menu and the entire concept of the restaurant have changed, the two visionary restaurateurs at the helm have not. Nick and Kirk Mathews-Bowden — who have been major players of the Potts Point food scene for several years through their Middle Eastern-Isreali diner Ezra and Bistro Rex, the French brasserie they formerly operated on Macleay Street — have rebooted Raja's Kellett Street digs to launch Teddy, a kitsch, camp and incredibly cool neighbourhood eatery where nostalgia is on the menu.

Nick and Kirk Mathews-Bowden

Teddy achieves a rare thing: a concept that meets this moment of tightened belts and restrained spending without scrimping on creativity or the calibre of its cuisine. The economic savvy has even extended to the restaurant's decor. Rather than totally ditching Raja's fitout, a more cosmetic sleight of hand has repositioned the look and feel, using light fixtures and soft furnishings to summon flavours of the 70s, 80s and 90s, with just a dash of derelict chic nixing the need for a bank-breaking refit.

When it comes to the food offering, affordability has also been front of mind for the Messers Mathews-Bowden, but so has feel-good factor, delivering a menu — by Head Chef Ben Sears and Group Executive Chef Nicole Coelho — that plays with retro vibes and winks to Nick and Kirk's personal histories. Dinner rolls are served in paper-lined baskets with hot garlic butter, ala the 1990s. There are dinner party staples plucked from the 70s and 80s like king prawn cocktail and grilled lamb chops with green sauce. These aren't merely carbon copies of the dishes of yore but elevated, contemporary riffs. Stuffed potato skins get a glow-up with whipped cod roe and salmon roe; sausage rolls feature a pork and crayfish filling, served in a signature pink tuckshop paper bag with a rich and glossy bois boudran on the side; and cheeseburgers are Franco-fied, reimagined as a beef tartare topped with grated smoked cheddar, ready to be scooped up by cute slices of Melba toast.

No dish on the menu tops $39 and there are plenty of snack-sized bites for those who want to enjoy a night out without committing to a hefty dinner bill. Daily specials will be a further enticement to cash-strapped diners, including Wednesday nights' Pasta e Vino offer for $29, Friday lunch Business Women's Special ("a main and a marg for the gal on the go") for $35 and the All Day Happy Hour, every Sunday. And yet, this isn't a restaurant that cuts corners just to cut costs. Quality produce put to best effect in beautifully executed dishes that don't require fancy platings or elaborate cooking methods, is the Teddy way. And this time, we reckon it's here to stay.