Longrain to open Indian outlet Subcontinent

Longrain will open an Indian restaurant early next year in the basement space currently housing the restaurant's bar and spin-off Shortgrain eatery.

Basmati is the obvious choice of moniker, but Longrain co-owner Sam Christie says a mountain of ideas were tossed around to find the new restaurant a name. "We were thinking of something Bollywood because of the Hollywood [Hotel] across the road. In the end we settled on Subcontinental because, while the menu will have a lot of Indian, we want to do dishes from places like Nepal and Sri Lanka as well," Christie says.

Longrain head chef Victor Chung, who is from Kolkata, will oversee a menu Christie believes Sydney is short of. "Everyone I know says, 'Where do I go for good Indian?'. The food will be our interpretation, and probably lighter than most Indian going around," he says.

Shortgrain will close on Christmas Eve, while the bar will continue to operate until just before Australia Day. After a quick redesign, Subcontinental will open early February. It doesn't spell the end for the lower-priced Shortgrain concept, with Christie eyeing options to relocate, including a site a Barangaroo.