This one-off dinner brings together two of the country’s best restaurants and chefs

Middle Eastern food has long been associated with hearty, home-style cooking, colourful family-run restaurants and bustling takeaways. But over the past 12 months, several new openings have reimagined the region’s rich culinary traditions, offering fresh takes on classic dishes, honed with precision and technique.

One of these is Watermans in Sydney, a two-hatted restaurant from the Bentley Group, which offers a refined take on Eastern Mediterranean cuisine on the Barangaroo waterfront. Another is Golden Avenue in Brisbane, led by former Gerard’s Bistro chef, Ben Williamson, which brings wood-grilled dishes from the Levant and the Maghreb to the table.

These two restaurants, together with Brisbane’s highly awarded Agnes, will join forces for a one-off collaborative dinner, bringing next-gen Middle Eastern fare to Watermans in Barangaroo on Wednesday, April 22, as part of the New Flavours at the Streets of Barangaroo series, which celebrates the precinct’s diverse dining scene.

The coming together of these three restaurants feels like a very natural alignment, says Bentley Group chef and restaurateur Brent Savage. “We’re really excited to bring everyone together for this, it’s a great mix of people, ideas and styles,” he says.

“Agnes brings that respect for cooking with fire, which is a core part of how we approach food at Watermans as well. Golden Avenue layers in those Mediterranean influences and a sense of generosity and vibrancy that really mirrors what we’re trying to create here.”

Half the menu will be created by Savage, half by Williamson, with new dishes developed specially for the event.

Among the starters, Williamson has created his take on banadoura, a Lebanese tomato kibbeh made from peeled, cured and smoked tomatoes, pulped and mixed with cracked wheat, garlic and vine leaves to create a zingy, smoky snack.

Other dishes include a Moreton Bay bug shish in kataifi pastry with rose geranium vinegar and a roasted, stuffed quail. “It’ll be a play on classic pilaf-style flavours,” Williamson says. “The quail will be stuffed with dates and figs, served with labneh and beautiful long grained basmati rice.”

For dessert, Savage will update one of his signature dishes: a sheep’s yoghurt parfait with mandarin and orange blossom. “As we move into the cooler months, we’ve swapped out the stone fruit for beautiful, in-season mandarins. They bring a bright, natural acidity that cuts through the richness of the parfait, while the orange blossom adds a really delicate floral note.”

Savage is excited to be working with Williamson again. “Ben’s an old friend, and I’ve long admired what he’s built up in Brisbane,” he says.

“Any opportunity to collaborate like this, especially with a respected interstate chef, is something we really value. It keeps things fresh for the team and gives guests a chance to experience something a little different.”

The New Flavours at the Streets of Barangaroo series continues on Wednesday, May 6 with a collaborative dinner between Vietnamese restaurant Annamese and MasterChef favourite Brendan Pang, with details soon to be announced.

The Watermans x Agnes dinner is priced at $159pp for a three-course meal plus snacks & beverage on arrival. The event will also include a Q&A with Brent Savage and Ben Williamson, hosted by Head of Good Food, Sarah Norris. Tickets now available from Humanitix.