'It's looking promising': Hope Estate at The Landing a 'warm up' for Hope at Honeysuckle development

Hope Estate owner Michael Hope told the Newcastle Herald this week his plans to open a "steakhouse and cellar door by the sea" at the former Newcastle Maritime Museum "were, realistically, about a year away".

The initial development application was approved by City of Newcastle in 2021 but has since been modified and is awaiting final approval.

"We've ended up delayed, going backwards and forwards with an amended DA," he said.

"The heritage status of the building has proven challenging.

"The steakhouse and a second kitchen are going in upstairs and that's where a redesign of the vents and a few other things was required."

Mr Hope won the tender for the building's 50-year lease in 2020. The venue was originally earmarked for a 2022 opening. An amended DA was submitted earlier this year.

"We're close to getting all the necessary approvals. It's looking promising," Mr Hope said.

"The thing that brought us undone was a modification.

"The mechanical engineer drew up all the points for the kitchen, the vents and what-not, and he put three or four big penetrations through the roof and the council heritage officer said 'Hang on you can't do that, it looks horrible. Can you reduce them?'

"So I've gone in and had meetings and brought in extra engineers from Sydney and asked 'Can we eliminate them? How many can we eliminate?' and they're like 'I think we can eliminate them all. We can redesign the whole thing' and I was like 'Great, done'."

The delay prompted Mr Hope to open a tasting bar on the Honeysuckle boardwalk: Hope Estate at The Landing.

"The Landing became available and I said 'Geez I'll grab that' and effectively do a pop-up, a warm up for the Hope at Honeysuckle experience," he explained.

"We won't have a full steakhouse in there but we'll have beers, wine and spirits, we'll showcase some of our beef on the menu, and have beer and gin paddles.

"It's a junior version of what we're going to create in the bigger space at Honeysuckle."

Hope Estate's group executive chef Anthony Fullerton is in charge of the food offering at Hope Estate at The Landing. Last year he was named the 2022 AHA NSW regional chef of the year.

"My focus on food is about letting the ingredients speak. I work closely with producers and farmers to source the very best of ingredients," he said.

"My farm to table philosophy is all about ensuring every step your food has taken - from the ground or on the hoof - to your dining table is carefully monitored to keep the food as fresh and unprocessed as possible."

His Griffith restaurant, the Bull & Bell, ranked 92 in the "World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants 2023".

"I specialise in dry aged beef, which is my passion," Mr Fullerton said.

"Cooking the perfect steak is the end goal. Hope Estate is the perfect place for me to achieve this with its own grass-fed Black Angus cattle farming program where we control the whole process from breeding through to the final product on the plate."

His tapas menu at Hope Estate at The Landing is designed to be shared and includes burger sliders, tacos, beef skewers, grilled king prawns and pizzas.

Mr Fullerton, who has moved to the Hunter Valley from Griffith, is dividing his time between Hope Estate at The Landing and Tower Lodge at Pokolbin, which is also under the Hope Estate banner. The former Sebastian restaurant at Tower Lodge has been "debranded", he said, to focus on a menu showcasing Hope Estate's beef and Fullerton's farm to table approach.

Mr Hope is also planning to open a steakhouse "upstairs at Hope Estate" in the Hunter Valley but, for now, his focus is on finalising all aspects of the Hope at Honeysuckle development and fine-tuning the offering at Hope Estate at The Landing.

He also hopes to launch a Hope Estate whisky in a couple of months' time.

IN THE NEWS