Alpha Greek restaurant unveils new look after dramatic revamp

"We shut a year and three months ago, but who's counting?" says chef Peter Conistis of the revamped Alpha restaurant, which was unveiled on Saturday.

This hasn't been a quick makeover and a new shade of lipstick. The Sydney CBD restaurant has been turned upside down.

"The kitchen used to be upstairs," Conistis says. "The waiters had to run food up and down. We have a larger open kitchen now; it's great."

The chef now has a more manageable dining room, which has shrunk from 200 seats to 150 to make space for the kitchen. There's a new wraparound bar with seating and a sparkling new wine storage wall. They've kept some of the Alpha touchstones, including an expanded version of its stone wall panels engraved with Greek letters.

There is more to be unveiled on Alpha's upper floors. "We'll be able to do big Greek weddings," Conistis says.

The first-floor Beta event space will hold 160 people, the Beta Grand will have capacity for 220 when it opens at the end of July on level two, and in September a bar and private dining room will open on level three.

Will you be able to pop in for a quick drink? "Absolutely, and it [the bar] will have its own mezze menu," Conistis says.

Open lunch Wed-Fri; dinner Tue-Sat.

236 Castlereagh Street, 238castlereagh.com.au/alpha