A new Italian-American restaurant, Vito's, opens on Friday at the former Rockpool site on Bridge Street in Sydney's CBD, promising the grandeur of 1950s and 60s New York dining with an $8 million fit-out and a kitchen led by a chef who worked at Carbone.
Vito's opens on Friday, October 30, at 11 Bridge Street in Sydney's CBD, in the site where Neil Perry relocated Rockpool in 2013. Owner Brett Sergeant and partners James Wicks and Iris Kleimann, who run Sunday Co., have spent $8 million transforming the space into a restaurant inspired by the grand Italian-American dining rooms of 1950s and 60s New York.
The fit-out includes Queensland maple joinery, rust-red velvet banquettes, custom-built vintage-style cabinetry concealing fire equipment and air-conditioning, and a mosaic restroom floor sign whose tiles are made of real gold. Speaker fabric matches mid-century originals. "We want everything to feel like it has always been here," Sergeant said. He sees Vito's as a long-term investment: "We have a 25-year lease."
The kitchen is led by head chef Michael Fox, who worked at Carbone in New York and Hong Kong and was The Age Good Food Guide's Young Chef of the Year in 2010. Pastry chef Lauren Eldridge, named Chef of the Year in 2025 and Young Chef of the Year in 2015, runs the pastry section. On the opening dessert menu, Eldridge and Fox combined their similar tiramisu recipes, which used different alcohol. "We've combined the recipes by pretty much putting all of it [the different alcohol] in," Eldridge said.
The savoury menu includes a 10-layer lasagne, beef carpaccio with truffle and hazelnut, a pork chop with five peppers, a $52 wagyu flank and $29 casarecce with sausage and broccoli rabe. A late-night menu is planned, with the pizza oven expected to fire up in a week or two. "We want to take those staples, something everyone does, and elevate them," Fox said.
Vito's is the most ambitious project to date for Sunday Co., which also operates Morrisons Oyster Bar & Grill on George Street and Whalebridge at Circular Quay. Sergeant said: "I want it to be a place you walk in and say to yourself, 'oh, why did I drive?'"
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Vito's marks a major new opening in Sydney's fine-dining scene at a landmark Bridge Street site that previously housed Neil Perry's Rockpool.
- The $8 million fit-out is a large private bet on Sydney CBD hospitality at a time the source describes as a tough market.
- The kitchen's award-winning pedigree positions Vito's as an immediate contender in the Good Food Guide awards circuit.
Background
The restaurant draws on the look and feel of New York's Italian-American dining rooms from the 1950s and 1960s, with an emphasis on period detail. The site was transformed by Brett Sergeant, James Wicks and Iris Kleimann, whose Sunday Co. already operates Morrisons Oyster Bar & Grill and Whalebridge. The team has taken a 25-year lease, signalling a long-term commitment to the venue.
What to Watch
- Whether the pizza oven and late-night menu arrive as stated in the coming weeks.
- How diners respond to the opening menu's pricing, including the $52 wagyu flank and $29 casarecce.
- Whether Vito's features in the next round of Good Food Guide awards, given the credentials of its chefs.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedVito’s is a Mad Men-era New York Italian restaurant opening at the old Rockpool site in Sydney CBD.The Age - Latest News: “Vito’s brings Madmen-era New York Italian to the old Bridge Street Rockpool site.”
- SupportedVito’s opens Friday, October 30, at 11 Bridge Street, where Neil Perry relocated Rockpool in 2013.The Age - Latest News: “It opens Friday, October 30”
- SupportedThe restaurant’s fit-out cost $8 million.The Age - Latest News: “they’ve splashed $8 million transforming the CBD site”
- SupportedThe restroom sign’s mosaic tiles are real gold.The Age - Latest News: “If the mosaic “restrooms” floor sign at Vito’s toilet entrance glitters, that’s because the tiles are made of real gold.”
- SupportedBrett Sergeant said, “We have a 25-year lease.”The Age - Latest News: ““We have a 25-year lease,” he said.”
- SupportedSergeant said, “We want everything to feel like it has always been here.”The Age - Latest News: ““We want everything to feel like it has always been here,” Sergeant said.”
- Partly supportedMichael Fox worked at Carbone in New York and Hong Kong; Lauren Eldridge was Young Chef of the Year in 2015 and Chef of the Year in 2025.The Age - Latest News: “Australian-born head chef Michael Fox worked at upscale Italian-American restaurant Carbone, skipping between New York and Hong Kong. He was also The Age Good Food Guide ‘s Young Chef of the Year in 2010; Eldridge was named Young Chef of the Year in 2015, and took home the Good Food Guide ’s Chef of the Year certificate in 2025”
- SupportedEldridge said, “We’ve combined the recipes by pretty much putting all of it [the different alcohol] in.”The Age - Latest News: ““We’ve combined the recipes by pretty much putting all of it [the different alcohol] in,” Eldridge said.”
- SupportedThe menu includes a 10-layer lasagne, and lists wagyu flank for $52 and casarecce with sausage and broccoli rabe for $29.The Age - Latest News: “a 10-layer lasagne, beef carpaccio with truffle and hazelnut”
- SupportedFox said, “We want to take those staples, something everyone does, and elevate them.”The Age - Latest News: ““We want to take those staples, something everyone does, and elevate them,” Fox said.”
- SupportedA late-night menu is planned, and the pizza oven is expected to start operating in a week or two.The Age - Latest News: “Sergeant said Vito’s will also launch a late-night menu, but there’ll be a short wait for the first evening slice, with the pizza oven firing up in a week or two.”
- SupportedSergeant said, “I want it to be a place you walk in and say to yourself, ‘oh, why did I drive?’”The Age - Latest News: ““I want it to be a place you walk in and say to yourself, ‘oh, why did I drive?’””