Butter restaurant to open in Surry Hills

Butter opens in Surry Hills next week, and if you're looking for something hotter than the butter in a chicken kiev, its takeaway fried chicken dispatched in custom shoeboxes is just the ticket.

Not on-trend enough? Then toss in butter-inspired soft-serve ice-cream, chicken matched with champagne and a theme that sells food alongside designer sneakers.

"We're a restaurant and bar first that sells shoes. But it'll look like a sneaker store," says co-owner Mo Moubayed​.

Backed by a crew with a growing portfolio, including Sydney food trucks and bricks-and-mortar Glebe restaurant Thievery, Butter opens on February 11 at 6 Hunt Street, in the former site of Ko and Co restaurant.

"We use buttermilk, there's dashi butter in the sandwich, burnt-butter soft serve will be on the opening menu and we just really like the name Butter," Moubayed explains.

The Thievery team thought there was a gap in the Sydney market for fried chicken, and want to complement the Barangaroo pop-up from Melbourne outfit Belle's Hot Chicken.

"[Chef] Julian Cincotta​ has been working on his recipe for a long time. It's different to Belle's. It's still southern-influenced, but there are some Asian hints as well. And Paul Flynn has worked on the drinks list, it has some great champagne matches," he adds.