Sydney Harbour Bridge, you’re about to get busted. With the new metro rail line about to open, the trip from Martin Place to North Sydney is going to take five minutes. You are now officially the scenic route.

The smart money has been looking at the effect of these new connections for some time. More company headquarters are moving to the lower north shore, along with fancy restaurants, gyms and luxury residential towers.

A major player in all the aforementioned is Aqualand property group and its hospitality arm, Etymon. They dipped a toe in the water in Lavender Bay with Loulou, following up with the fire-driven Poetica, a surprise hit in North Sydney. Now they’ve opened an entire precinct called the Walker Street precinct beneath the 371 luxury apartments of AURA by Aqualand.

Still largely populated by high-vis vests and a few outlier diners, the precinct comprises Sol Bread & Wine, a cosy bakery-cafe that turns into a tapas bar from 2pm to 10pm; Una, a boutique food store that displays cheeses like designer handbags; and Genzo, a slinky modern Japanese spot.

The biggest piece of the puzzle is Soluna, a large, light-filled 200-seat diner with an additional 60-seat bar, vast kitchen, lounge area and outside dining in a landscaped plaza. The scale of the place is made more intimate with soft tones, banquettes and blond woods, and the opening menu is one of tempered ambition.

That means stuffed duck with black lentils and orange and Blackmore wagyu karubi steak are balanced by prawn toast, the crisp, pressed round of prawn mousse buzzing with shallot, ginger and sesame.

Office workers may not be the target market for a high-level dish of tataki-style Hokkaido scallop and salted blood plum on a cushiony bed of macadamia cream, so there’s also herbed falafel and a wagyu cheeseburger. The latter is picture-perfect with its Swiss cheese, grease-free meat patty, pickle, lettuce, tomato, onion, sauce and skin-on fries, although a lack of richness and sizzle pushes it to the healthier side of the burger spectrum.

Also on the healthy side is nicely al dente sourdough spaghetti made from leftover bread, coated with a border-crossing mix of roast garlic, miso and pepper, and finished with grated Pyengana cheddar.

Desserts are reminiscent of Loulou, from warm madeleines to chocolate sabayon tarts.

Etymon’s director of culinary, Sebastien Lutaud, is present, and executive chef Rhys Connell is busy torching imperadore (a highly regarded sashimi-grade fish) and crumbing veal chops. Connell was sous chef to Martin Benn at Sepia for 10 years and wants to make his mark.

He does it with crisp pork belly – a big slab of tender Byron Bay Berkshire pork with crisp-but-not-crackling skin, a cladding of baby onions, and a smoky whisky sauce. Cooked low and slow, then pressed flat, grilled and glazed with Starward Solera whisky, it’s anchored by its own rib bone, shown off by impressive knife work.

The wine list from Etymon’s Thomas Craig is stress-free, with nothing too scary or funky; just excellent choices that go with the food. The pork belly, for instance, could take a red, white or rose, but Voyager’s 2023 Coastal Chardonnay from Margaret River brings a vibrant, toasty complexity.

Sand whiting, a lovely fish, is just-crisped in the pan and sent out with parsley and too many roasted almonds. The salad is no afterthought, the wintry bitterness of Castelfranco radicchio mellowed by a zingy tomato ponzu dressing.

Desserts are reminiscent of Loulou, from warm madeleines to chocolate sabayon tarts. Go for the Monte Carlo ice-cream sandwich and bite into your childhood through coconut sorbet and honey and raspberry ice-creams, sandwiched in shortbread biscuits.

Soluna is still a bit quiet in these early days, and pacing can be slow. But opening an ambitious food precinct in Far North Sydney before there is a crying-out-loud need for one is surely a “build it and they will come” project. They will come. They’re just waiting for the train.

Source: Terry Durack, Goodfood Sydney