Porter House to open in July as newest mega-venue in the CBD

With Merivale splashing $200 million last week on a sprawling site next to its Hotel CBD on Clarence Street, talk on Sydney eat streets has revolved around what this new mega venue for the city might be.

But you don't have to wait for Justin Hemmes, because on the other side of the CBD a new five-level food venue backed by offshore Asian investors is getting ready to open.

Porter House will swing open its doors on Castlereagh Street in July, with a restaurant, delicatessen, wine bar and private dining rooms. There's even a boutique hotel beside it.

The sprawling Victorian property has sat unused for decades, its position alongside the Church of Scientology becoming more fashionable in recent times, with chef Colin Fassnidge recently opening a bistro at The Castlereagh and Luke Mangan trading a couple of blocks away at Luke's Kitchen on Pitt Street.

Porter House is on an impressive scale. A 90-seat restaurant, Dixson & Sons, which gets its name from the merchant family who traded from the building, has signed chef Emrys Jones. He'll steer the modern brasserie, where native Australian ingredients will be woven in with the chef's Brit-French kitchen pedigree.

The ground-floor Henry's Bread & Wine has some nice accoutrements to go with its all-day menu: a four-metre wine wall, central bar, it'll even have its own florist. In spring the venues will be joined by a top floor bar, Spice Trader.

Porter House, 203 Castlereagh Street, Sydney