Neil Perry swaps Song Bird for Gran Torino in Bay Street reboot
Neil Perry is steering his culinary ambitions from Asia to Italy with the launch of Gran Torino — his new restaurant opening this Saturday on the former Song Bird site.
After less than a year in operation, Song Bird is out, and Perry is giving the Bay Street space a second chance — this time trading woks for wood-fired Italian. “There’s probably slightly more dishes from the north, but we’ll walk all around Italy,” Perry said. “With Italian, good shopping is good cooking.”
Named after the vintage muscle car and inspired by the Clint Eastwood film, Gran Torino will serve up refined Italian fare like ossobuco, pasta and a one-kilogram, dry-aged CopperTree bistecca alla Fiorentina priced at A$260.
The original concept behind the multi-level venue — which included Bobbie’s bar in the basement and a top-floor event space — was pared back, but not abandoned. Bar Torino is set to open downstairs on 2 September, with cocktails and antipasti from the main kitchen. “We’ll be doing Italian cocktails,” Perry said.
Despite teething issues including a plumbing mishap that left the bar smelling “like a damp cave”, Perry is optimistic. “It’s our house on the line,” he said.
Executive chef Richard Purdue, who previously helmed Margaret and helped launch Rosetta in Sydney, is leading the kitchen. Expect dishes like salmon in acqua pazza, swordfish with salmoriglio, and even a nostalgic torta di Verona, which Purdue admits has “nothing at all to do [with the] city.”
With minimal tweaks to the neutral Song Bird fit-out — aside from some framed Italian art — Perry hopes this iteration sticks the landing. “You could’ve filled a swimming pool,” he said of early setbacks. This time, he’s betting on pasta to pull ahead.
Jonathan Jackson, 7th August 2025
