Ponsonby Fine-Dining Restaurant Sidart Announces Big Changes

Sidart is undertaking a makeover.

Come September 3 there will be a new look and a new menu at the Three Lamps restaurant, with the business announcing a move away from the fine-dining cuisine that made it famous, shifting its strategy to deliver a more relaxed offering to diners.

Think Italian casual with that famous Sidart flair.

While the new menu is more relaxed — it will span modern and traditional Italian fare, like South Island scampi and tiramisu, with the crudo changing daily — there will remain a focus on quality and produce that has won the establishment fans and awards.

Of the new chapter, chef and owner Lesley Chandra said the vision would bring the simplicity, warmth and “communal spirit” of Italian dining to the Ponsonby Rd restaurant. “It’s a new chapter for Sidart, but it’s one that’s deeply rooted in my passion and past experience with Italian cuisine.”

The atmosphere has changed gears to be more relaxed and welcoming, and the restaurant interior has been redesigned.

Chandra had an informative stint at Italian restaurant Baduzzi under Ben Bayly, before going to Cassia — appointed head chef in 2014 — then Sidart in 2017, and Sid at The French Café in 2018.

By 2021 he was back at Sidart, and that year Chandra took over ownership from Sid and Chand Sahrawat.

Sidart made its name with opulent dining. In 2015 its nine-course chef’s table degustation ($180) was Auckland’s most expensive meal, noted Viva’s Jesse Mulligan. “And its most incredible.”

Returning in 2022, for a five-course meal “with extras” for $160, Mulligan explained the “steep ticket price gets you great service as well as great food” and that Chand was one to watch. “A brilliant emerging chef.”

It made Viva’s Top 50 Auckland Restaurants in 2022, and again in 2023. Awarding it Best Drinks List, in a sign of things to come Jesse observed that while Chand’s “fine dining food is world-class in its execution, he’s devoted to democratising this level of eating”.

Sidart’s latest evolution isn’t an outlier, it’s among many restaurants innovating, adapting and trying new things — nothing new for the fast-paced industry.

2024′s hospitality landscape has seen considerable change. We’ve seen a raft of exciting new openings in Auckland alone this year — restaurants, cafes, bars, delis and queue-worthy pie shops — with Viva deputy editor Johanna Thornton recommending new French eatery Bon Pinard in Birkenhead, Westhaven’s glamorous First Mates, Last Laugh and Dominion Rd’s Parro among the eateries to have on your radar.

And beyond Sidart, other established restaurants are mixing things up, refreshing menus and layouts.

Earlier this year the French Cafe returned to its original name, with Sid and Chand Sahrawat reformatting the restaurant layout, and turning the main dining area into a new pan-Asian eatery Anise.

A handful of central-city spots have also started offering more casual dining options.

In an interview with Viva last week, Michael Meredith and Georgia Van Prehn, the new head chef at Mr Morris, told Leisha Jones that Georgia was restructuring the menu with more snacks and sharing dishes, giving diners a more relaxed option. “Something Michael has always envisaged for the restaurant,” Leisha says.

Meanwhile, uptown on Karangahape Rd, cool wine bar Celeste has spent winter “testing” a new menu with its “Pizzeria Céleste” pop-up instead of its usual à la carte French fare (the pepperoni and spicy honey is great).

From vibe shifts and experimental pivots, there’s lots to enjoy (and support) in Auckland’s food scene, and Viva reports on new openings and dining news every week.

Emma Gleason is the Herald’s deputy editor of lifestyle and entertainment (audience), and has worked on Viva for more than four years, contributing stories on culture, fashion and what’s going on in Auckland.

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