Vivant Wine and Tapas Bar opens in Potts Point

Marrickville-raised Jason Coorey built an international empire as a talent and sports agent, working with F1, Royal Ascot and cannily chartering cruise ships as accommodation for the Olympic Games. So what's he doing opening a restaurant with a former Rockpool chef in one of Sydney's toughest, most battle-scarred restaurant precincts?

They say the smart money and entrepreneurs move in when others head for the exit. Coorey has snapped up the former site of Favela and The Village, in the back streets behind the main drag of Kings Cross, where he opens Vivant Wine and Tapas Bar this week and will launch a piano bar upstairs in the venue next month. "It's been empty for about three-and-a-half years. This is my first venture in the restaurant game. After all this time doing things overseas I wanted something I could call home," he tells Good Food.

Chef Aldo Lara arrives via the kitchen at Rockpool, and a couple of ex MasterChef finalists will join him in coming months. Dishes on the opening menu include a scallop, salmon tartare and caviar, and a Tuscan chicken with blue cheese sauce. Despite multiple closures on Kellett Street, Coorey believes the relaunch of neighbour Gastro Park as Antipodean Restaurant and Bar and several other upcoming venues is a positive sign. "It is a good dining precinct," he says.

Wednesday-Saturday, 5pm-midnight

1 Kellett Way, Potts Point, vivantwineandtapasbar.com.au