Another fine diner joins mid-market march

With fine-dining stalwart Claude's set to close in September, what's next at 10 Oxford Street, Woollahra?

Rather than stick a plaque on the front of the building commemorating the fact the site housed a fine-dining restaurant that served its first meal when Malcolm Fraser was prime minister and hung around long enough to see the second coming of Kevin Rudd, the Claude's site will join the march to the mid-market.

Claude's chef and co-owner, Chui Lee Luk, confirmed her business partner at Claude's, Phillip Haw, will open a new restaurant at the site. Word is Haw sees an opportunity in the Woollahra market for an Asian restaurant, a glaring gap that hasn't gone unnoticed by other operators in the area.

Lee Luk is also headed to the mid-market, opening her own Asian eatery, Chow Bar & Eating House, in September at the current site of Bentley Restaurant & Bar in Surry Hills. Haw was originally to be involved at Chow, but will now concentrate on the Woollahra restaurant launch.

Lee Luk says she's looking forward to celebrating the restaurant's reign during its last month of trading with dishes from Claude's history. And it is quite a back catalogue to draw on.