Press
Australian Bartender – “Campari Academy is bringing an Aperitivo Symposium to Sydney Bar Week”
Gourmet Traveller Review
Good Food – “Review: Bright Light in the Big City”
Broadsheet – “Our House: World Class Bar Takeover at Shell House”
Sitchu – “Best New Bars in Sydney for Cocktails & Good Times”
TimeOut – “The best new bars in Sydney”
TimeOut – “World Class x Shell House”
Good Food – “Sydney’s most exciting restaurant openings of the year so far”
Novonite – “Sydney’s most exciting restaurant openings of the year yet”
Broadsheet – “Sydney’s Best Bar Openings of 2022 (So Far)”
Daily Telegraph – “Top 20 restaurateurs reveal their favourite Sydney bars, restaurants and service”
The Urban List – “Sydney’s Most Beautiful Restaurants To Book For A High-Flying Feed”
The Urban List – “22 Of The Best Restaurants In The Sydney CBD Right Now”
HerCanberra – “Long weekending in Sydney? Here are 10 new restaurants to check out”
Broadsheet – “Best Things To Do In Sydney This January”
Delicious – “Review: Shell House Dining Room and Terrace is Sydney’s new fine diner in the sky”
Good Food – “Sydney’s Best Bar Openings of 2021”
Broadsheet – “Sydney’s Best Bar Openings of 2021”
Good Food – “Here’s Cheers! 15 of Sydney’s finest places to drink this Summer”
Good Food – ” Dining Room & Terrace opens at Sydney CBD’s $14million Shell House”
Good Food – “Good Food Guide 2022: The It List – next big things in NSW”
Good Food – “Sky Bar opens at Sydney mega-venue Shell House with a flood of bookings”
Delicious – “Behind-the-scenes at our 20th birthday dinner at Shell House”
Vogue Australia – “16 New Sydney Bars & Restaurants To Try Now”
GQ Australia – “22 New Sydney Restaurants To Try This Summer”
Boss Hunting – “Sydney’s 37 Best Rooftop Bars To Tie One On This Summer”
GQ Australia – “10 New Sydney Restaurants To Check Out Post-Lockdown”
Delicious – “10 New Restaurants In Sydney you may have missed”
Good Food – ” ‘Massive’ Queues Expected To Remain As Sydneysiders Return To Pubs And Restaurants”
Broadsheet – “Menzies Bar & Bistro, the First Venue in the CBD’s Monumental Shell House”
Concrete Playground – “The Menzies Bar Is the First Venue Opening Inside Shell House”
The Urban List – “The Point Group have taken on historic Shell House at Wynyard in the CBD”
Delicious – “Make up for lost time at this slick new European bar and bistro by Joel Bickford.”
Good Food – “Ward takes over the Dining Room & Terrace”.
Broadsheet – “Five Minutes With Aaron Ward”.
Gourmet Traveller – “From Opera House to Shell House.”
Good Food – “Top chef Joel Bickford swaps Aria for Fort Denison restaurant”.
Broadsheet – “Chef appointed Culinary Director of two monumental Sydney venues.”
Concrete Playground – “Chef Joel Bickford joins Shell House project”.
Hospitality Magazine – “Joel joins The Point Group.”
Spice News – “The Point Group nabs Joel Bickford”.
News For The Food Lover – “The Point Group announces Joel Bickford.”
Vouge – “The 16 best new restaurants in Sydney [July 2022]”
Vogue – “13 new Sydney Bars & Restaurants to try this Winter.”
Good Food – “Ambitious four in one mega venue.”
The Australian – “Sydney art deco icon gets a revamp.” VIEW
The Australian – “Sydney rich-listers break record”
Sydney Morning Herald – “Unveiling Historic Shell House revamp.”
Sydney Morning Herald – “Brookfield Place launches a new rooftop bar.”
Timeout – “Grab a drink in a clocktower.”
Concrete Playground – “A new multi-level venue for Sydney.”
Architecture & Design – “Brookfield Place, a place for Sydneysiders.”
Essential Magazine – “Taste Port Douglas Announces Its 2022 Chef & Talent Line Up”
Sitchu – “Sitchu’s Ultimate Guide to American Express delicious. Month Out”
Broadsheet – “Our House: World Class Bar Takeover at Shell House”
Sitchu – “Best New Bars in Sydney for Cocktails & Good Times”
TimeOut – “The best new bars in Sydney”
HerCanberra – “Long weekending in Sydney? Here are 10 new restaurants to check out“
TimeOut – “World Class x Shell House”
Good Food – “Sydney’s most exciting restaurant openings of the year so far”
Novonite – “Sydney’s most exciting restaurant openings of the year yet”
Broadsheet – “Sydney’s Best Bar Openings of 2022 (So Far)”
Daily Telegraph – “Top 20 restaurateurs reveal their favourite Sydney bars, restaurants and service”
Urban List – “30 Best Bars In Sydney Right Now”
Good Food – “The top six Sydney bar trends (and where to drink them)” Urban List – “Sydney’s Best Sbagliato Negronis And Where To Drink Them” 
Broadsheet – “Best New Restaurants in Sydney”
The Market Herald – “The Best Melbourne Cup Events Across Australia”
Harpers Bazaar – “These are the best (and brightest) marquees at the celeb-infused Birdcage”
Urban List – “16 Of The Best Outdoor Dining Spots In Sydney Right Now”
Sitchu – “World Class Cocktail Festival: Everything to Add to Your Calendar This September”
CNA Lifestyle – “Sydney for foodies: The ultimate guide from cafes and bars to experiential dining”
Broadsheet – “Sydney’s Best Bar Openings of 2022 (So Far)”
T Australia – “Shell House’s Recipe for Tuna Cotoletta”
Time Out – “The best new bars in Sydney”
Urban List – “The Best Martinis In Sydney Right Now”
Broadsheet – “Features: Menzies Bar”
Broadsheet – “World Class Cocktail Festival”
Eat Drink Play – “The Best Happy Hours In Sydney”
Concrete Playground – “Sydney’s 20 Most Clicked-On Restaurants of 2022 So Far”
News
Alex Kirkwood joins the Shell House team as Food & Beverage Director
At age 32, Alex is one of the country’s most acclaimed front-of-house talents, having spent over a decade cementing his specialisation of wine & beverage at Aria Sydney. His CV also includes front-of-house experience at some of the country’s top restaurants including Quay, Rockpool Bar & Grill & Momofuku Seiobo.
Alex, an award-winning Sommelier, supports all winemakers &producers, both local & international, whose primary emphasis is the quality of what their vineyards produce.
“We’re absolutely honoured to have Alex join our team at Shell House, which already includes some of the country’s best hospitality talent. Known for pushing the boundaries with wine, & creating award winning wine programs, I am so excited to work with Alex & showcase the incredible food & beverage we have to offer through his skill & experience. We have spent many years talking about working together over a bottle of wine at The Dolphin. Alex finally joining us is such an exciting moment for Shell House & The Point Group” – Brett Robinson.”
Aaron Ward joins the Shell House team as Head Chef of the Dining Room & Terrace
“I am absolutely thrilled to announce one of Sydney’s hottest Chefs, Aaron Ward has joined our Culinary Team at Shell House as the Head Chef of the rooftop Dining Room and Terrace. After spending time in such important Sydney kitchens as Ester, LuMi Dining, Copenhagen restaurants Relae and Amass, and then leading the kitchen success at acclaimed Sixpenny, Aaron joins Joel Bickford, our Culinary Director to further underpin the culinary identity of Shell House. Joel and I are so excited to continue menu development with Aaron and his new and innovative perspectives to deliver menus that I know Sydney will absolutely love when we open very, very soon.” – Brett Robinson
Joel Bickford, Culinary Director, Shell House & Fort Denison Project
The Point Group are thrilled to welcome acclaimed chef Joel Bickford as Culinary Director across two of their upcoming landmark venues, Shell House in the heart of Sydney’s CBD and Fort Denison in Sydney Harbour.
Joel, who was Executive Chef at Aria Sydney for four years, will work closely with Brett Robinson & the Shell House team to create casual and approachable dining experiences at Shell House Dining Room & Terrace and the Sky Bar Rooftop, when they open in October.
Joel has been honing his craft for 28 years. In 2013, the call of the country led him to Biota Dining in the Southern Highlands where the restaurant earnt two Chef Hats under his guidance. Two years later, Joel returned to the city to head up the kitchen at Sydney’s waterfront Gantry Restaurant & Bar, which was awarded its first Chef’s Hat after a year under Joel’s direction. Joel was named Daily Telegraph’s Chef Of The Year, 2015 and was more recently awarded Chef of the Year at the 2018 Savour Excellence Awards. Through his guidance and leadership in the ARIA kitchen, ARIA received two hats with a score of 17/20 from the Australian Good Food Guide for the past 4 years.
“I am thrilled to announce one of the country’s most respected culinary talents as the Culinary Director of Shell House and the upcoming Fort Denison project in Sydney Harbour.
Joel’s vast experience, creativity and dedication to quality, accompanied by his belief in our vision to create two world class dining destinations for Sydney, is such an important milestone and gives our team so much confidence.”
– Brett Robinson
“I am really looking forward to joining Brett and his team at The Point Group. The team’s vision to breathe new life into two remarkable Sydney buildings is so exciting and the perfect next step in my career.
It’s a great opportunity for me to challenge myself and work alongside a progressive, dynamic and forward-thinking team of people and I’m excited about creating these important new dining experiences for Sydney at a time when we all need some inspiration.”
– Joel Bickford
Growing up in a small rural town in the outskirts of Sydney’s rural Blue Mountains, Joel’s less-is-more approach to cooking is rooted in a lifelong connection to nature and a deep reverence for his ingredients and their unique regional qualities. His cooking style showcases seasonal Australian ingredients, with a razor-sharp balance between simplicity, extravagance and innovation.
