Orange restaurant scene's newest players have set a date for the long awaited reopening of the Union Bank.
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From next Thursday, diners looking for something between a pub meal and fine dining will have another lunch, snacks or dinner option.
Partners Sarah Crowley and Dominic Aboud have designed a menu which they hope will appeal to colleagues having a quick catch up, lovers wanting a long lunch and families heading out to celebrate.
The inside will open first, with the Schoolhouse Restaurant now taking bookings for next week.
The outside area is still on its way, with the Arthouse Bar and Courtyard offering a separate menu in coming weeks.
The opening comes after the Byng Street venue spent a year out of operation after its previous owner Nick Bacon shut it down last September.
Mr Bacon's former landlord Nikki Browers has resurrected the Union Bank, handing the reigns to Ms Crowley and Mr Aboud.
From next week the Schoolhouse will offer communal dining featuring "the best of the Central West".
Its head chef Mr Aboud has put together a brasserie-style menu with "a heavy Mediterranean and European influence".
He described the meals as "simple, good food - not over the top".
Formerly of Rockpool Bar and Grill, Mr Aboud hopes to win Schoolhouse crowds over with dishes such as his house-made ricotta with peas and flatbread and his beef tartar with horseradish and Slippery Jack mushrooms.
Everyone seems pretty excited to make this work
- Dominic Aboud
In the courtyard, the menu will be designed to share, with tapas and charcuterie boards made up of goods from local producers.
Mr Aboud said The Courthouse will highlight "the more social side of dining and how it can bring people together".
Diners can expect to pay $15-$23 for small plates and $25-$40 for main sized meals.
Ms Crowley and Mr Aboud have made the tree change with former Rockpool chef Matt Henson, who will be second-in-charge in the kitchen.
Mr Aboud said while he knows the work involved in setting up a restaurant, after experiencing it on Channel Seven's Restaurant Revolution, having a close friend and a girlfriend working alongside him is a "massive bonus".
He said since seeing the place for the first time in July "an army of tradies have come in" rewiring, plumbing "making sure everything is perfect".
"We're not risking having any kitchen nightmares like fridges going out in the first six months," he said.
Over the past few months, Ms Crowley, Mr Aboud and Mr Henson have visited cellar doors and met with producers from around the region.
"Everyone seems pretty excited to make this work," he said.
"People have really rallied around us and helped us out."
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