“The finishes are simple, naked & de-saturated in colour”, reads the press release, nicely summing up the elegantly muted aesthetic of this Sydney joint. For those of you not familiar with technicalities of desaturating an image, it’s basically where you strip out colour – there’s a little slider, take it all the way down and your image is black and white, leave it near the bottom, and you’ve got this refined little Greek restaurant. The desaturated thing is a nice simile, and the real-world execution is arresting, to say the least.

Interior designer George Livissianis explains how the dusty palette has been introduced to emulate a rocky Greek island landscape, and it’s that – along with the en vogue faux-distressed walls – that give The Apollo its calm sophistication. Many of its stylistic touches may be a little overdone these days… but who cares? It’s bright, it’s inviting, and it’s seriously cool – who needs a design-bore inspecting the stripped back concrete for authenticity anyway?

Of course, there’s food too – being a restaurant, and all – proprietors Jonathan Barthelmess and Sam Christie are both Australian Greek, the former’s grandfather being a chef at former Sydney icon, Pruniers. He himself has resided as head chef at Coast and the Manly Pavilion, and has – despite his young age – been plying his trade for some 18 years, whilst Christie’s Longrain has been one of the city’s most popular restaurants for over a decade. So there’s pedigree and, thanks to Barthelmess’ childhood friend George Livissianis, this Potts Point restaurant looks darn good. A welcome addition.

Photography © Scott Needham