Lane Cove – it's a suburb that's known for...
But seriously, it's famously a quiet, leafy suburb full of new families. It does have some cute rivers, national parklands, pleasant coffee shops and metre-long wood-fired pizzas – but that's about it. But there's change afoot and it's the continuation of a trend that we are two-thumbs-up for here at Time Out. The local bowling club is being renovated, and one of the guys behind the project is Chester "Chet" Garcia – who just happens to be one of the founders of the awesome collaborative creative school Work-Shop.
Being long time pals of Time Out, we hit up Chet to get the scoop on the Lawns, which will be taking over the Bistro space at the Longueville Sports Club – to find out what's in store for the ol' Diddy.
Why the Longueville Sports Club?
My school buddy, Johnny McGirr (who is one of the Newtown Firefighters behind the hilarious and touching signs they put up at the fire station) has been a long time resident of Lane Cove. In fact he was born and bred in the area and still lives there today. His family is extremely active in the local community (his father was the mayor) and he got wind that Longueville Sports Club, or 'The Diddy' as it's affectionately dubbed by locals, was looking for someone to take over the bistro. Johnny and I have known each other since we were five-years-old and we’ve dreamed of working on a project together. We’re both passionate about food and community, so drawing on my strengths from Work-Shop, we’ll be bringing some creative flare to the lower North Shore.
Who is in charge of the kitchen?
We are lucky enough to partner with Chef Ryan Crawford who has clocked time in the kitchens of Quay and Nobu in London. He has just returned from an 10 year stint in Hong Kong where he was Executive Chef for The Stanley Group and Chef De Cuisine for The Aberdeen Marina Club. I was actually introduced to him over a game of poker with the boys from Trolley’d who spoke very highly of him. Let’s just say, our stars aligned.
What about the bar?
Happily, the Diddy will still be operating the bar so you can expect the same 'bowlo' prices.
So what's on the menu?
We’ll be serving up a foot long “Diddy Dog” with slow cooked onions, seeded mustard and house made pickles. We also have a “Longueville Classics” section that features all of your bistro favourites with some fancy touches.
The venue is known for being very family friendly – will that continue?
Family and community values lie at the heart of our project and our aim is to bring people together over food and experiences. We’ll be hosting fresh produce markets, workshops, mums and bubs activities, kitchen takeovers and a myriad of creative activities to keep the local community engaged. We have plenty of new garden toys and games to ensure the juniors are interacting and having fun. We’ll also have picnic hampers available on the menu that come with a basket and blanket so that you can enjoy a good old fashioned picnic on the lawn.
The Lawns opens tomorrow, Thu Jan 26. Kenneth St & River Rd, Longueville 2066. 02 9427 2210.
Want more sporting fun? Check out the best indoor sports centres in Sydney.