Friday, April 11th 2025: Sydney Travel Guide has revealed ambitious plans for the transformation of the beloved Argyle venue into The Collective, promising an exciting new chapter for this iconic location in The Rocks. This significant redevelopment aims to elevate one of Sydney’s most historic neighbourhoods.
According to Sydney Travel Guide’s feature, The Collective represents a significant trend in Sydney’s hospitality scene: “One of the biggest trends emerging out of Sydney’s dynamic dining scene has hospitality groups curating entire precincts.” The article describes the development as “Sydney’s most important play yet, with a complete, overdue transformation of The Rocks on the cards.”
The Collective is an initiative from Hunter St Hospitality that integrates existing venues like The Cut Bar & Grill and Saké Restaurant & Bar with new dining experiences at the former nightclub. When the company announced the changes, “many locals decried the death of the city’s nightlife. But such doom and gloom is unfounded; this is clearly a play at the more refined, sophisticated dining scene that Sydney’s most historic district has been yearning for,” notes the guide.
The feature reveals that come April, “The Argyle’s transportive sandstone frame will mark an energetic scene of three restaurants—The Garden, The Dining Room and Cloakroom—four bars and several smaller spaces both inside and around the heritage building. The result should be a complete overhaul of how Sydneysiders and visitors view The Rocks, elevating the area’s culinary offerings considerably with distinctive, design-forward spaces.”
Every venue in The Collective will provide something unique. The Garden will have a “leafy Parisian ambiance, described as a courtyard restaurant that transforms from cafe to bar during the day,” and promises “stately elegance, where a locally driven menu will narrate the tale of Australia’s best produce.” The Dining Room will be a “200-seat showstopper” where one can enjoy dishes such as “black lip abalone with bottarga and black rice, and yellowfin tuna with blood plum and celery, along with signatures like 1-kilogram Robbins Island wagyu ribeye.”
Hunter St Hospitality CEO Frank Tucker outlined the vision: “Hospitality precincts are having a moment in Sydney, and I believe their appeal will only grow. With an 1800-square-metre footprint spread across three levels, we saw an opportunity to create something even more special with the properties we already have. Each venue offers something unique, from casual dining to premium experiences, making The Collective as appealing to tourists exploring the area as it is for corporate and Sydneysiders.”
Stay updated on The Collective‘s development. This exciting project joins other notable venues from the same hospitality group, including Rockpool Bar & Grill and Spice Temple in offering premium dining experiences in Sydney.
