Cirrus chef Alex Munoz to open Restaurant Labart on NSW north coast

Alex Munoz starred in the kitchen at Monopole and as head chef under Brent Savage at Cirrus, Barangaroo, before departing to begin the long search for his own restaurant site.

Word is that Sydney will lose the chef's talents, with the stretch of real estate between Byron Bay and the Gold Coast firming as the favourite zone to land his new venue, Restaurant Labart.

Munoz is keeping his cards close to his chest, but concedes he's been priced out of opening in his home town.

"The sites in Sydney are just too expensive," he says. With a lease about to be signed, he did concede the move will be a sea change. "It's borderline regional, I think it'll be a surprise to a lot of people."

If everything sticks to schedule, he's hoping to open Labart in August or September.