New life for Pavilion restaurant on the Domain

With TV-chef Luke Nguyen headed into the restaurant at the Botanic Gardens, attention has turned to the Pavilion site up the hill in the Domain.

The primo location, with the New South Wales Art Gallery on one side and a green vista on the other, has been closed for months.

A team of builders has been as busy as the Archibald Prize packing room crew on delivery day, transforming the parkside restaurant that launched the Sydney career of chef Damien Pignolet.

We've done some snooping and can reveal the Pavilion moniker is set to get the chop when the restaurant reopens later this month. It'll be renamed Terrace on the Domain.

The redesign, which will open it up more to the Domain views, will include a restaurant, function spaces, a terrace area for breakfast and lunch, and a bar.

And the menu?

"The rustic Italian foods will be typical of those found on a traditional Italian Kitchen table," a spokesman for owner Trippas White Group says.

The inside word in culinary art circles is a named chef is also poised to join the project.