Former Aria chef Simon Sandall to open Boronia Kitchen in Gladesville

Matt Moran's long-serving kitchen general, Simon Sandall, is set to add restaurateur to his already impressive CV, opening Boronia Kitchen next month.

The restaurant will be a decidedly more low-key than Aria and smaller than Opera Bar, which Sandall oversaw in his former role as group head chef.

Boronia Kitchen will open in the former site of Il Bolognese restaurant, in suburban Gladesville. Sandall has been consulting since departing Moran's company.

Now he is teaming up on the Boronia Kitchen project with Susan Sullivan, wife of Moran's former business partner Peter Sullivan, and an experienced hospitality veteran in her own right.

"It's all about the locals … somewhere you can pop in for a meal or a great Ottolenghi-style salad. Or grab some home cooking takeaway," Susan Sullivan says.

"Simon lives around the corner. He spotted the site. Chris Grinham has done the design. It'll open the first week of June."