The Verdict
Woodcut is run by Ross and Sunny Lusted, the team behind the much-missed Bridge Room, who opened it inside Crown Sydney at Barangaroo when the tower launched in December 2020. The menu is organised by cooking method rather than course — ash and wood grilling, the wood oven, the steam kettle and curing — in a sprawling open-kitchen room facing the harbour (restaurant page).
Ross Lusted — a former Chef of the Year whose career runs from the Park Hyatt to the Bridge Room — built Woodcut on what he calls exquisite simplicity. The signatures show it: a whole wood-fired southern rock lobster with kombu butter, octopus cooked on the ash grill with whipped anchovies, and home-fermented sourdough with cultured butter. Dinner is firmly $$$$; an express lunch of steak or fish and frites runs $45 (Broadsheet).
Woodcut holds one chef's hat in the Good Food Guide and has become Crown Sydney's flagship table — a polished, large-format special-occasion room rather than an intimate tasting counter, best for a celebration with a harbour view.
Why It Works to Impress Clients
A landmark Barangaroo address, a theatrical open kitchen of live fire, and a name diners know from the Bridge Room give Woodcut instant credibility for a business dinner. The format scales for a table, the wine list is serious, and the harbour setting closes the impression.
Who It's Not For
Not for budget diners or anyone after an intimate, hushed room — Woodcut is a large, buzzy hotel flagship where a full dinner with wine reaches well into four figures for two. Skip it if you want a small chef's-counter tasting menu; this is a fire-driven à la carte experience at scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the chef at Woodcut?
Woodcut is led by restaurateurs Ross and Sunny Lusted, the team behind Sydney's former two-hatted Bridge Room. Ross Lusted, a past Chef of the Year, designed the menu around live-fire cooking — ash and wood grilling, the wood oven, steam and curing — in the open kitchen at Crown Sydney.
What should I order at Woodcut?
The signature is the whole wood-fired southern rock lobster with kombu butter. Other standouts include octopus cooked on the ash grill with whipped anchovies and the home-fermented sourdough with cultured butter. The menu is grouped by cooking method — grill, wood oven, steam kettle and cured — rather than by traditional courses.
How much does it cost to eat at Woodcut?
Woodcut is a top-tier $$$$ restaurant; a full dinner with wine reaches well into four figures for two. A more accessible option is the express lunch — steak and frites or fish and frites — at $45 per person, a way to experience the open kitchen without committing to the full dinner menu.
Where is Woodcut and when did it open?
Woodcut is on Level 1 of Crown Sydney at 1 Barangaroo Avenue, on the harbour at Barangaroo. It opened in December 2020 with the Crown Sydney tower and has since earned one chef's hat in the Good Food Guide, making it the hotel's flagship dining room.
Also in Sydney
Browse the full Sydney restaurant guide, or compare harbour-view fine dining at Bennelong and Aria. For more by occasion, see our Impress Clients and Close a Deal guides.