Pendulum Communications

05/08/2026

“A new waterfront cafe and bar named after the first woman to perform at the Sydney Opera House has opened, marking the first stage of a major transformation to the iconic Opera Bar precinct.
APPLEJACK has unveiled Winnie's Sydney with the all-day venue serving everything from morning coffees through to late night cocktails.
The venue opening marks the first milestone of Applejack’s renovations of the Opera House dining precinct, with a completely reimagined space by Luchetti Krelle.
The venue is named after Winifred Atwell, the Trinidad-born pianist who became the first ever woman to perform at the Opera House, playing Waltzing Matilda to construction workers in 1964, years before the landmark officially opened.
Designed to welcome more visitors to the Opera House precinct and enhance the venue’s status as a destination restaurant and bar, the venue includes a new electric kitchen and an upgraded, fully operational bar servicing more than 330 seats across the terrace and seawall, allowing more visitors to enjoy the views.
The menu by Applejack Culinary Director patrickfriesen and Opera Bar Executive Chef Daniel Cooper boasts a range of local NSW producers and ingredients with signature dishes including chicken and sweetcorn congee, a Blue Swimmer crab omelette with beansprouts, herbs and sriracha, and conchiglie pasta with king prawns, chilli, basil and lime.
Winnie’s will be open every day of the week for all-day dining, with both dine-in and takeaway options available for visitors on-the-go.” Read the full article on Trusted news for Sydney & NSW / realcommercial.com.au
📷 Steven Woodburn / Trent van der Jagt

25/06/2026

20/05/2026

“ One of Sydney’s most notable dining rooms has entered a new era.

The Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay has just welcomed one of its biggest arrivals yet, with four-level multi-venue destination .sydney being revealed just in time for Vivid, at the former site of Squires Landing and the much-mourned Quay restaurant.

The sprawling waterfront hub offers a capacity of 1,500 all up. On the ground floor, a beer garden opens out onto a waterfront terrace, with big screens angling firmly at the game night crowd and major sporting events.

The first-floor pub plays it more casually in the daytime, with DJs and a late-night martini menu shifting the dial after 9pm. Across both levels, a classic pub menu namechecks all the heavy hitters – steaks, burgers, parmies and fish and chips – alongside a snackier menu designed for grazers with crowdpleasers like tuna crudo, burrata from Vannella Cheese and salt and pepper squid.

Within the former Quay dining room, The Oriana Restaurant (opening Friday May 22) has kept the updates to the world-famous space more modest. On the menu, however the feel is more high-end steakhouse than its towering predecessor, with an emphasis on seafood such as a chilled seafood platter and lobster tagliatelle, as well as a largely NSW steak program that ranges from a 200g pasture-fed eye fillet, through to the Riverine T-Bone (at a hefty 1kg, and equally hefty $280).

An events space above tops it off – all with front-row views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, and the busy working harbour between them. The mammoth new build unites the formerly disparate spaces, all under the purview of Australian Venue Co. who took over Peter Gilmore’s beloved fine diner when it closed last year. It borrows its name from SS Oriana, one of the first great ocean liners to berth in Sydney, and is likely going to become one of the first ports of calls for cruise ship crowds.

The opening has come just in time to welcome the Vivid crowds, with a special $149pp Vivid set menu planned from its first service on May 22, alongside the a la carte offering.”

15/04/2026

Watsons Bay Hotel front page on Herald Travel / The New Zealand Herald 💫