Waterman's Lobster Co joins Sydney's lobster roll race

Step aside soft-shell crab, the lobster war is coming to Sydney.

Melbourne has gone crazy for the bite-sized luxury of lobster rolls, and you can already tuck into them at a few Sydney venues, but from June 9 Waterman's Lobster Co will join the race, opening at Potts Point. Matt Swieboda, the hospitality operator behind pioneering Sydney small bar Love Tilly Devine, is opening Waterman's with business partners Nathanial Hatwell and Tristan Blair, on Orwell Street.

"We don't think anyone has nailed it here, yet. Lobster rolls are like a good margherita pizza, you can't mess with it. We want to do a proper New England roll. We won't use sweet rolls. Claw and knuckle meat, a little bit of mayo and finely diced celery. That's it," Swieboda says.

A "warm butter" version will also be available. They'll turn to the Atlantic for the star of the show.

"In our opinion, the cold water variety just has much better flavour and texture than the local spiny rock lobster. But in every other aspect, we've gone for local, sustainable ingredients, and some very un-American flavours," Matt says.

Waterman's won't live on lobster alone, with Balmain bug and Spencer Gulf prawns also slated for the menu. Expect one wine to have a big say on the wine list, with Swieboda describing chardonnay as the go-to wine of lobster/wine matches.