IconPark is a crowd-funded restaurant and bar venue in Sydney who supply budding restauranteurs and their teams, chosen by the public, a location to showcase their dining concept. In the 21 day crowd-funding campaign which took place earlier this year, almost $300k was pledged by the general public. IconPark's season two residents, Rupert & Ruby opened their doors in August and will operate at the Stanley Street location in Darlinghurst until the end of the year.
Let’s start with the beards. A good-looking troop of bearded boys fronts the kitchen with Canadian head chef Eli Challenger at the helm (okay, he’s not bearded…but he wears great specs). They maintain cool composure behind the pass, despite the fact that the 90-seat restaurant is always buzzing with boisterous youths boozing up stairs and a wall of sweetheart wooers below. The team works together effortlessly allowing time for banter and collective humming to the sweet classic rock tunes pumping from the speakers. If you are perched at the bar, feel free to join in. Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ makes for a great sing-a-long.
The team began at the IconPark venue in August, taking over from the popular Stanley Street Merchants. The venue is the world’s first crowd-funded restaurant and bar, which supplies budding restauranteurs with a ready-to-trade, licensed location to showcase unique and temporary dining concepts that the public have ultimately chosen.
Ruby’s BBQ, a Deep South barbecue joint, was the original idea proposed by Eli, his wife Ruby and friend/great-bearded business partner Aaron Pearce (from Fat Rupert’s in Bondi). The concept was so popular at the Taste of Sydney festival that the talented team was invited to take up the second residency. This time round, the trio combined the best of Ruby’s BBQ and Fat Rupert’s to create a traditional American meets modern Australian dining experience that operates from breakfast through to dinner.
The food is rustic, honest dude-food that is not for the calorie conscious. Think Big Poppa burgers filled with 12-hour smoked brisket, oozing cheese, lettuce, onions, and pickles paired with a bowl of crunchy rosemary and lavender salted shoestring fries. Crispy fried chicken (prepared and soaked in buttermilk for two days prior to cooking) is another house specialty, owing to the batters blend of secret spices. Vegetarians may find the menu harder to navigate, but a colourful salad of grilled witlof, cauliflower, apple and toasted walnuts with pleasant charry undertones is a good option. The food tangos nicely with the punchy cocktail list, but it’s the Stone & Wood Pacific Ale with its big fruity aromas that will truly steal your heart.
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