A phoenix of sorts is rising from the ashes left by the blaze that struck Porteño last Friday, forcing the two-star Sydney restaurant to close its doors.
Co-owner Elvis Abrahanowicz says that while the damage is contained to one section of the restaurant, which is otherwise intact and set ready for dinner service, it may take two months to repair – which is why they’ve decided to pop-up as Popteño in Rushcutters Bay until the renovations are complete.
The team will move into the space that previously housed Neild Avenue and Rushcutters on 28 January, serving “a combination of bistro and regional” Argentine classics.
“We still want to be doing something,” Abrahanowicz says. “We don’t want to kick back … and we’ll probably do something a bit different, obviously, because it’s not equipped the same as Porteño.”
While the flames, which most likely originated from one of the kitchen’s exhausts, affected the upstairs bar and the roof, it was the water damage that hit the building the hardest.
The repairs, Abrahanowicz says, “could take six weeks or two months”. Until the pop-up opens, though, you can catch he, Ben Milgate and the team cooking chilli dogs, Philly cheese steaks, Southern fried chicken and waffles alongside the crew from Gelato Messina at the Double Down Diner in Hyde Park until 25 January as part of the Sydney Festival.
Popteño will be open Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm at 10 Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay, NSW through 14 March.
Looking for more Sydney dining options? Check out our list of the best restaurants in Sydney.
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