The 10 best private dining rooms in Australia
Whether it’s for a corporate event, a birthday, or just because, these venues take a lot of beating for excellent food, top wines and exclusive service.
As Jean-Paul Sartre wrote, “Hell is other people.” For Australia’s corporate elite, that makes the private dining room an indispensable tool of business. Not just for the prestige, but for the privacy; a necessity when the board is meeting in another city, or you want to thank your top clients, celebrate the closing of a deal, or bring the team together to tell war stories over a shared table.
As with most things relating to dining in Australia in 2024, the PDR (private dining room) has changed. These days, it could be a theatre, poker room, wine bar, or public-but-private corner of a former stock exchange. Here’s our pick of 10 of the best around the country.
The Gidley, Sydney
“Our private dining rooms are aimed at the sort of people who don’t have to go back to the office,” says James Bradey, co-owner of this luxurious basement steakhouse lurking behind an unmarked door in the Sydney CBD. Especially the Library. “When guests have finished eating, we lift the oak table-top to reveal the custom-built poker table,” says Bradey. “A private croupier enters, and teaches everyone how to play poker.” As a corporate team-building exercise, it’s hard to beat. A larger room, the Norfolk, is fully sound-proofed, with a table for 20 and a private bar. For those who can linger longer, drinks writer Max Allen notes “an extraordinary selection of old and rare bourbons”. Basement, 161 King Street. thegidley.com.au
Aru, Melbourne
Rejoice, lovers of a round table (the symbol of a lack of hierarchy). Banda, the discreet, wood-lined private dining room at Aru has a splendid one for 10 or 12. There is also a longer, wine-lined Terrace, partitioned by a heavy mesh curtain; the two can be combined for drinks and dinner. Aru is a great example of the creative maturing of Asian-Australian dining, with head chef Nico Koevoets channelling coals and smoke to bring a memorable dry-aged, fragrant duck to the table. And because the Halim Group also owns that grand old lady The Windsor, diners can book a specially priced overnight accommodation and parking package. Deal. 268 Little Collins Street. aru.net.au
La Cache à Vin, Brisbane
GCQ Funds’ co-founder Douglas Tynan hosted a private lunch at La Cache à Vin for investors in April. “It was a big hit,” he says. “High-quality French food, excellent service.” The private dining room of this classic French bistro, all golden sandstone walls and long baronial table, is constantly booked (minimum eight guests) for its $99 per person three-course menu. As well-connected wine importers (two containers a year come in from France), La Cache can pull rabbits out of hats. “Last year, we had a one-day turnaround to find an ancient Château Lafite Rothschild,” says co-owner Romain Maunier, “and were able to serve it just in time”. 215 Wharf Hill, Spring Hill. lacacheavin.com.au
Orso, Adelaide
Adelaide’s eastern suburbs power base has the most private of private dining rooms. There is a dedicated rear entrance and parking, with separate access that avoids the restaurant proper. “There’s also a wide trapdoor that opens to reveal a steep staircase leading to what used to be the cellar under a one-time butcher’s shop,” reports our South Australian corporate dining spy Nigel Hopkins. “It seats up to 10, with serving staff sworn to discretion so that no state secrets leave the room.” Head chef Joel Tisato’s cooking is accomplished, pasta is house-made, and the wine list finely tuned. 36 Kensington Road, Rose Park. orsokensington.com.au
Café Sydney, Sydney
The huge dining room is always abuzz, but Café Sydney’s private dining room is mirror-lined and fit-for-purpose, reframing the views of Circular Quay and the Harbour Bridge into a vertical postcard. A well-drilled service team under operations director Jan McKenzie delivers shellfish platters or crackling-fringed roast pork to board dinners, Zoom meetings with Paris, and letting-off-steam parties. “We’ve had all sorts of things go on in there,” says McKenzie. Drinks editor Max Allen reports the wine list is “peppered with trophy wines, from Grange to Rockford Basket Press Shiraz”. Customs House, 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay. cafesydney.com
Flower Drum, Melbourne
Private dining has long been raised to an art form in Cantonese culture, and the Flower Drum lifts it yet again. The large round tables to the rear of the long art-lined dining room can swallow up to 14 people, and are so well-spaced that you may not need to move behind closed doors for privacy (though there are two dedicated banquet rooms). Regulars negotiate the menu with skilful waiters both old and young. Together, you might land on baby abalone, coral trout, or Peking duck, immaculately carved at your table. 17 Market Lane. Tel: (03) 9662 3655
Restaurant Hubert, Sydney
As soon as you swing down the spiral staircase into this decadent, candle-lit, over-the-top ode to the French bistro, you enter a world of three-martini lunches, caviar, steak and foie gras. It’s the perfect stage for any sort of get-together, whether in the grand Theatre Royale with tiered seating for 100, or the private bar on an elevated bridge above the restaurant. Album launches and film screenings are common. “We’ve even hosted a wake, for a recently passed Francophile,” reports creative director Jordan McDonald. “All of life’s moments that demand beautiful food, wine and service.” Add-on offerings include jazz musicians, DJs and performance artists. 15 Bligh Street. restauranthubert.com
Santini Grill, Perth
With all those billion-dollar mining deals to celebrate, Perth offers a smorgasbord of private dining options. Trust QT’s Santini Grill to go that bit further, with a semi-private 40-person dining room – the city’s largest – as well as Juggernaut, a smaller dining room for up to 16. Plus, they’re not boring! “The neon-lit Santini bar means there’s a high injection of energy, and the rooftop bar kicks on, seven nights a week,” reports our WA corporate dining observer, Max Veenhuyzen. Even the food is full of life, from handmade pizza to wood-fired scallops. QT Perth, 133 Murray Street. santinibarandgrill.com.au
Stillwater, Launceston
Private dining with a chance of seal-spotting is one of the side benefits of running a restaurant in a converted 1830s flour mill on the banks of the Tamar River in Launceston. “Guests can take over the wine bar at high tide and keep an eye out for sea life,” says co-owner Bianca Welsh. At the long table in the atmospheric wine cellar, you’re surrounded by Tasmanian wine, yet still close to the life and buzz of the restaurant.
The Southern Rock lobster with rye blinis and macadamia cream is a real taste of Tasmania, as is the award-winning wine list. 2 Bridge Road. stillwater.com.au
Reine & La Rue, Melbourne
The historic Cathedral Room that houses Reine & La Rue is so spectacular, some corporate giants engineer an exclusive buyout (with a minimum spend), effectively turning the entire space into their private dining room. If that isn’t viable, a corner is devoted to a single Queen’s Table for a party of up to 14, which, though open, feels more private than public. The kitchen aims as high as the vaulted ceiling with set menus from $150 to $250 per person, and, as drinks editor Max Allen says: “It makes sense to avail yourself of the wonderful French selection, particularly strong on Alsace riesling.” 380 Collins Street. reineandlarue.melbourne
The AFR’s inaugural restaurant guide, Fin Dining & Wine, is out Saturday May 11, inside The Australian Financial Review.
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