Apera opens at Castlecrag's Quadrangle Shopping Village

When architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Griffin put pen to paper in the 1920s to draw the blueprints for Castlecrag in Sydney's north, they created a legacy for creative partnerships in the suburb that continues to this day.

The latest can be found at Apera, which has opened at Castlecrag's Quadrangle Shopping Village.

It combines the collective talent of Dane Gorrel, who helped steer the progressive Drink'n'Dine Group, chef Ryan Blagrove (ex Marco Pierre White) and Jenny Shaw, who ran the kitchen at The Palisade Hotel during the reign of the talented Brian Sudek.

"Brian had a massive influence on the way I cook," says Shaw. "Apera continues the Palisade's wholesome, feed-you attitude but is a little more Spanish than Mediterranean."

Most of the food comes out of a wood-fired oven, a subtle ode perhaps to Burley Griffin's nearby architectural masterpiece, The Incinerator in neighbouring Naremburn.

"We have a Spanish chef helping out with the wood fire and his lamb is next-level. Not dry at all, and finished with warrigal greens. We're also doing local clams with samphire and a whole roasted head of cauliflower with a cooked down bechamel," Shaw adds.

Bar manager Jordan Blackman has created a cocktail list that champions native ingredients.

So what's with the Apera name? "In the same way you can't call champagne made here champagne, Apera is the word for fortified wine in Australia made in the style of sherry," says Shaw.

Open Wed-Sat 11am-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm.

23-26/100 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag, apera.com.au