Sydney's overseas passenger terminal gets new life as The Oriana
The Overseas Passenger Terminal at Sydney Harbour has a new tenant. The Oriana, a multi-level hospitality venue from Australian Venue Co, opened this week in the space previously occupied by Quay, the fine-dining restaurant that earned three Good Food Guide hats for 23 consecutive years under chef Peter Gilmore before closing in February.
Australian Venue Co, jointly owned by Hong Kong and US-based private equity firms, operates more than 200 venues nationally across pub, bar and restaurant formats. The Oriana represents one of its larger undertakings, with a full refurbishment of the site that also replaced the James Squire taphouse, The Squire's Landing.
The venue spans four levels with distinct offerings at each. A ground-floor beer garden with big-screen sports coverage and a late-night pub with a martini menu launched Tuesday. An à la carte restaurant on the upper level, with harbour and Opera House views, follows Friday, May 22.
The restaurant interior has been redesigned, swapping Quay's blue carpets and leather seating for burnt orange furnishings, though the chrome ceiling in the upper tower has been retained.
The pub level takes a warmer direction with timber finishes, hanging plants and olive green tones.
Executive chef Jason Roberson, previously with Applejack Hospitality and The Grounds, is leading the kitchen. The menu leans into seafood and Australian produce, with dishes including chilled Balmain bugs ($59), a seafood platter with oysters, tuna crudo, king crab and Southern rock lobster ($199), and a lobster tagliatelle as the signature dish ($99).
Premium steaks, including a dry-aged Riverine T-bone ($280), are also featured. The ground-floor pub menu offers more accessible options such as a chicken parmi ($34) and a pasture-raised rib-eye ($60).
Roberson told the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH): "We all feel really privileged to be part of such an iconic restaurant site, but it's going to be a very different offering than Quay."
Operations manager Anita O'Connell said accessibility across the venue was central to the concept. "For many people, their first experience of Sydney is at Sydney Harbour, so we wanted to create somewhere that anyone could go … no matter what kind of dining experience they're interested in," she told the SMH. "It's designed so you can move your way through all the different levels in one day – maybe you pop in for a drink with a friend in the beer garden, then head upstairs when it's time for dinner."
Roberson said the group was proud to have created a welcoming, contemporary Australian offering in an iconic venue.
Jonathan Jackson, 20th May 2026
