Matt Moran reopens Aria Sydney after the restaurant's biggest makeover in 17 years

Matt Moran's flagship Sydney restaurant has reopened after its most dramatic transformation since launching in 1999.

"I'm really excited about the changes," says Moran, the executive chef and co-owner of the two-hatted restaurant by Sydney harbour.

The challenging project involved closing Aria for 10 weeks, shelling out for $1000 chairs and dispersing 80-something staff to other businesses while the doors were shut. "There's definitely pressure in the process to ensure that you're ready on time, especially when you've already got reservations and functions booked in," says Moran.

"It's a big thing to close a restaurant like Aria for a time ... we didn't want to just make minor changes such as re-padding the seats for a bit of a lift. We wanted to totally commit to it."

He isn't kidding about the scale of changes. Aria's epic makeover stretches from the menu to the physical restaurant, which has been revamped by in-demand designer George Livissianis (The Apollo, The Dolphin).

"Everything is different. We've got totally new interiors, a whole new kitchen including a grill section, new extraction, the walls, ceiling and bathrooms are all new, we've got new furniture, bespoke glassware and crockery … I could go on," says Moran. "Essentially, it's been like building a new restaurant. Pretty much the only thing that has remained is the name and myself!"

Moran and head chef Jason Staudt redeveloped dishes during the renovations.

"We haven't kept any of the dishes from the previous menu, but we haven't strayed from what we've always focused on at Aria, which is balanced dishes that showcase the best quality, seasonal ingredients, sourced from outstanding producers."

So whether you're dropping in for a pre-theatre dinner or have the hours for a time-stretching lunch, you can expect dishes such as Iberico jamon with white beetroot, macadamia and salt bush; shelled Pacific oysters with keriberry and beach banana; a hefty vego main of king oyster mushroom and encrusted eggplant or a lighter, and very spring-appropriate serving of summer peas, grilled asparagus and stracciatella.

Desserts include a banana and passionfruit souffle; chocolate and cherry bomb with hazelnut praline; and lime meringue with yuzu sorbet, peach and ginger.

Aria's extensive changes are a confident counter-statement to the cliched line that Sydney fine-dining is dead, a sentiment often trotted out after this year's high-profile closures of Rockpool, Marque and Silvereye. If anything, Moran has been wanting to "step things up after contemplating it for such a long time". "We're obviously really dedicated to Aria, the fine-dining space it sits in and of course the industry, too," he says.