Greek restaurant, 1821, is finally set to open in late May after its entire interior departed Athens for Sydney on Friday.
The restaurant will be the jewel of the old Vault Hotel’s redevelopment on Martin Place, owned by Jim Kospetas and serving David Tsirekas’ five star culinary delights.
The venue that is being described as the Greek Rockpool Bar & Grill is now slated to open in late May, after originally having an mid-2015 launch date.
“The fitout costs are climbing. It’s been very expensive,” Kospetas told the Daily Telegraph positive that the restaurant will launch on time.
“I don’t think we’re gong to get much change out of $2m. It may even get up as high as $3m. But we’re taking Greek food to the next level.”
Acclaimed Greek designer Dimitris Economou has finished the interiors, which will arrive by container ship shortly.
“I employed a designer from Greece and flew him in to design it,” Kospetas continued.
“The whole essence [of the restaurant] is that we want it designed and built in Greece so it actually is a Greek interior.”
The restaurant will feature two floors of dining and a basement bar called the RVR (Russian Vodka Room) inspired by the Odessa bunker where a group of ambitious Greeks started the Greek Liberation Movement of 1821.