Former Fins chef Dylan Cashman opens The Blue Door in Surry Hills

As former head chef at Fins and having spent time in top-flight restaurants in Europe, chef Dylan Cashman has seen more than his share of chef's hats and Michelin stars. With any luck he'll add some silverware to his own cabinet when he opens The Blue Door, in Surry Hills, next week.

The Blue Door will lean heavily on NSW provenance and produce. It's a cornerstone claim of many start-ups, but Cashman has put the miles where his mouth is, with him and his team visiting every farm and fishing area that supplies the restaurant. The project has taken him to Goulburn and Bilpin; there's even been some offshore fishing.

Cashman will use whole animals across the degustation menu, bake bread in-house and snip herbs from two newly installed Airgardens. They are also sticking to a local paddock-to-plate brief with dinnerware from Porch ceramics in North Bondi.

The dinner degustation is $129, with two lunch options, two courses for $65 and three courses for $80.

He has some seasoned help in the kitchen from sous chef Chris Dodd (ex Aria). He also has some restaurant runs on the board, opening his first Blue Door on the Gold Coast in 2017, named best new restaurant in Queensland and picking up a chef's hat. It closed a year later due to damage to the building.

"It had a blue door, it stuck, so we've used the name again here," he says.

Located next to the Readers' Digest building in Surry Hills, it's easy to find. Just look for the blue door.

Open lunch Thu-Fri, dinner Wed-Sat. Shop 8, 38 Waterloo Street, Surry Hills, thebluedoorsurryhills.com.au