Modern Greek restaurant 1821 to close on Pitt Street

When 1821 opened in 2016, the restaurant offered a heady mix of pork belly baklava, towering ceilings and an interior shipped from Athens. It looked and felt like somewhere in for the long haul. Alas, the Sydney CBD has chalked up another restaurant casualty.

Owner Jim Kospetas confirmed the Pitt Street restaurant served its last truffled moussaka on December 12. The veteran restaurateur says the impact of COVID-19 on trade was the tipping point.

"Unfortunately, we couldn't come to a resolution with the landlord," he says.

With a moniker that paid homage to the 1821 Greek revolution against the Ottomans, the restaurant aimed high. Athens-based designer Dimitris Economou tailored and built the interior, then shipped it to Sydney.

With its giant artworks and fine detailing – the bar lamps had black tassels that mirrored those worn by Greek presidential guards – Kospetas says it held a special place among his many restaurant projects. "This was my pride and passion," he says.

The Pitt Street battle for 1821 might be done, but Kospetas says the war isn't over. He'd like to rebirth the restaurant in another venue.