A new chapter for Potts Point’s Yellow
After more than a decade The Bentley Restaurant Group pass the groundbreaking restaurant onto current head chef Sander Nooij and his business partner Mark Hanover.
The Bentley Restaurant Group’s Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt have announced the sale of their much-loved restaurant, Yellow, to longtime head chef Sander Nooij and his business partner Mark Hanover.
The transition marks an exciting new chapter for the celebrated venue, as it continues to evolve while maintaining its deep-rooted commitment to an elevated plant-based experience. The new iteration of Yellow will be unveiled on Thursday 20 March, 2025.
Yellow, from the award-winning team behind Bentley Restaurant + Bar, Monopole, King Clarence and recently opened Eleven Barrack, was the first vegan restaurant awarded two chefs hats in the coveted Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide.
Recognising a demand for vegan dining in Sydney, Bentley Restaurant Group co-owners Brent and Nick transitioned Yellow from a French-leaning bistro to having a stronger focus on plant-based dining working closely with small vegetable and fruit producers, a few years after opening in 2013. The restaurant has become widely respected for its six-course set menu that highlights unique heirloom vegetables and local suppliers. Now, Brent and Nick will pass the baton to Sander Nooij and Mark Hanover to usher in the next era of Yellow.
Brent Savage said: “When you get an opportunity to pass on a restaurant like Yellow to a much-loved staff member, you don’t pass it up. Sander has been an integral part of Yellow’s success, and we couldn’t be more proud to see him take the lead and bring his vision to life. We’ve had a big couple of months launching Eleven Barrack, and we’re looking forward to focusing on Sydney’s CBD, where our venues all currently are.”
For Nooij and Hanover, the acquisition represents the beginning of a lifelong project—an opportunity to cement Yellow as a globally recognised dining destination and redefine plant-based cuisine through a transition away from traditional labels such as “vegan” and “plant-based” to embrace a new culinary identity; botanical gastronomy.
Nooij said: “Botanical gastronomy is a culinary approach that celebrates the vibrant world of plants, herbs, and flowers. Free from animal products yet rich in flavour, we emphasise seasonality, sustainability and the extraordinary. Our goal is to create a dining experience that is not just for vegans, but for anyone who values creativity, refinement, and the beauty of nature on their plates. Free from the controversy and politics that can be part of the vegan narrative, botanical gastronomy merges elements of contemporary cuisine with a strong emphasis on botanical ingredients, showcasing their flavours, textures, and nutritional advantages.”
With the changing of the guard will come a gradual evolution of the menu, with only a few tweaks taking place imminently until the new seasons. The menu will then continue to change periodically with the seasons, with dishes and ingredients slowly changing as new produce becomes available. The venue itself will also see a refresh, with an updated bar area and new artwork, plants, soft furnishings and more.
“We aspire for Yellow to be more than a restaurant. We want it to be a place where people gather for extraordinary food, great wine, and the joy of discovery,” said Hanover.
With an ambition to be measured against the country’s best restaurants (not just the best plant-based restaurants), Yellow will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in fine dining, creating dishes that surprise and delight in equal measure. Despite the incoming changes, the ethos of Yellow remains steadfast: to transform nature’s bounty into an extraordinary culinary experience. By embracing creativity, sustainability, and integrity, the team will continue to push the boundaries of modern dining, offering a new perspective on the beauty and diversity of botanical ingredients.
For reservations and further updates, visit www.yellowsydney.com.au
