FREEDOM OF CHOICE THE FACELIFT OF AN ICONIC SYDNEY PUB PROMISES TO DELIVER A NEW ERA OF GOOD TIMES

To understand why hospitality group Merivale — under the creative direction of Justin Hemmes and his sister, Bettina — has decided to turn its golden gaze on Oxford Street in Sydney’s Paddington, it’s worth going back about 25 years. Around 1990, before the shopping centre giant Westfield won Bondi Junction up the road, before exorbitant rents pushed out the boutiques and before the area slipped into dismal decline, where it has remained for some 15 years, Oxford Street was alive and buzzing. The retail strip was lined with small shops, cafes and the bustling Saturday markets. Justin Hemmes, then around 16 years old, went there on weekends. “Everyone came here to socialise,” he recalls. “You’d come up in the day, meet people and work out what you were going to do that night. And it was beautiful. That’s how shops should be — open areas, walking around, socialising and interacting. And lots of choice in boutiques.” With their family business, Merivale (named after the family matriarch), Justin and Bettina have opened 14 restaurants as part of some 60 bars, eateries and event spaces in Sydney. Justin has long wanted to reignite this part of Oxford Street. So, near the corner of William Street, they have recently opened The Paddington, formerly The Paddington Arms hotel. In February, Fred’s restaurant opened its doors, with Charlie Parker’s basement bar underneath. In between the two sits The Paddington’s takeaway Chicken Shop. As with all of Merivale’s projects, the focus is on authenticity, quality and beauty. The chefs are topnotch, the design teams are renowned, the stylists are brilliant. Justin drives the concept while Bettina, more reticent when it comes to the spotlight, works with him on interior design. He wants to build a precinct that will draw people in with options and a promise of good times; she wants people to feel comfortable in timeless interiors with a story, a soul and a warmth to them. They are all about collaboration, wisely hiring the best and investing them with absolute trust. ››

The opening of The Paddington also saw the recruitment of chef Ben Greeno, formerly of Copehnagen’s Noma and Sydney’s Momofuku Seiobo. The kitchen was built to his requests, and three custom-made French rotisseries turn Bannockburn chickens alongside lamb, beef, fish and seasonal produce. It is a change from his previous fine-dining cooking, but Greeno is enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and more casual food. “The dishes are simpler and less fussy,” he says. “The flavour’s still there but it’s not super-obvious food — it’s not something that you have to sit down and think about. I want people to leave having had a great meal.” Creating a venue around Greeno’s kitchen brief, architect Kelvin Ho and interior designer Emilie Delalande from Akin Creative worked closely with the Hemmes siblings and stylist Amanda Talbot on The Paddington’s interior, which is a series of zones defined by the finishes and colour palettes. The front bar, with its square white tiles, imparts a pseudo-butcher feel. It moves through to a more subdued and snug seating area, which then gives way to the light, double-height, theatrical, Brit pub-influenced restaurant. Up an open staircase is a bar boasting moodier hues, sumptuous velvets and rich navy leather. “In the past, Paddington was a semi-industrial part of Sydney with a lot of primary produce, so the idea was to have the butcher shop upfront, even though this place was never a butcher,” says Ho. “But we’ve taken that narrative and the new interpretation of this history and created a layer of elements that converts it to a dining area and bar.” Bettina Hemmes and Talbot agree that, together, they added a sense of history and soul to a rather plain space. “We’re like a family,” says Bettina. “We talk about everything and discuss every detail.” These two, in particular, share a relaxed, easy vibe. Talbot jokes, “Bettina’s famous words are, ‘It can’t be designer-y… it feels too designer-y!’ ” No argument there. “I’m a little anti-design,” admits Bettina. “With the last few projects we’ve worked on, if anything’s looking a little too designer-y — a chair or something — I steer away from it. I’m very much looking at timeless pieces that you’ll love in 10 years. Things that will always be beautiful.” ›› The Paddington, 384 Oxford Street, Paddington, NSW; merivale.com.au.