Australian-based celebrity chef Sean Connolly is bringing his hospitality prowess to a bold and “behemoth” new eatery in Queenstown. Writer Jo Elwin takes a tour.
Sean Connolly’s friends find it amusing that the restaurateur is constantly reinventing himself, and it’s with an air of deference that he tells me
Lancashire-born, Connolly moved to Sydney in the ’80s, and while not moving to the Southern Alps (yet), the Queenstown community can thank one of those jocular friends for encouraging Connolly to bring a little of his hospo prowess down south. Or a lot as the case may be. There is nothing little about the Pavilion, which Connolly, a 50% co-owner, describes as a “behemoth” The 860sq m space can seat 265 people from 7.30am until late, seven days a week. And because this is Sean Connolly we are talking about, the food is exceptional, in a very approachable, down-to-earth way.
While presenting as different outlets, with Steak & Oyster Co. and Ciao Brutto having their own distinct branding, Pavilion is one cohesive establishment that can be many things to many people. The open layout encourages sociability and interaction with the Steak & Oyster Co. kitchen displaying premium meats and seafood in a butcher’s window to assist diners in their menu choices. You walk up, see what catches your eye, and place an order using the QR code at the table, which you have sat yourself down at. My eyes pop at this casual style of dining and Connolly doesn’t miss a beat, raising his boldly bespectacled eyes in a mischievous ‘come-on, let’s do it’ kind of way. He assures me that the floor staff are there to take orders if preferred and there is a middle section that will accommodate table bookings. Things do feel more restaurant-y here, but Connolly stresses the relaxed nature of Pavilion.
“We want everyone from 6- to 96-year-olds to enjoy dining here on simple, pared-back food – the stuff I have been doing for 15 years,” the affable chef explains. “It’s a bit of me. I am that guy who seeks out a good steak when I go out.” It’s for good reason that he has brought Steak & Oyster Co. across from Sydney. “Steak & Oyster Co. has been a really successful brand. My family loves it.” The huge slabs of meat have a certain appeal, as do the whole snapper, tuna steaks and crayfish on the ocean shelf in that window. Meat and seafood are cooked on two broilers that Connolly refers to as juggernauts. “I have been using them for years and they are absolute weapons – one for steak, one for seafood – they can push out a lot of gear.”
Over the broilers, I am introduced to executive chef Tomoya Kodera, another weapon in Connolly’s arsenal. The Japanese chef, who has had key roles in Connolly’s Auckland restaurants, has moved his family to Queenstown for this gig – the enormity of which is not lost on Connolly who is giving this project his all for these reasons. ‘Tomo’, who is loving everything about his Central Lakes life, except its distance from the sea (he’s a surfer), gets to flex his pizza muscle at Pavilion. Across the room, the Ciao Brutto kitchen also features two giant ovens – of the pizza variety – that have the capacity to cook 800 pizzas a day.
Once again acknowledging his big intentions, Connolly explains that the “supersizing” of the pizza section meant the creation of a dough room – purpose built to handle the kneading and proving of the crazy amount of dough that makes crazy-good pizza thanks to Kodera’s training under “The Great Chef” Salvatore Cuomo, who is also known as “The Pizza Man” in Japan. These are Napolitan-style pizzas with an impossible choice of 10, both rosso and bianco based. No curry-flavoured toppings then? “Oh no, nooooo cooreee.” Connolly exclaims, Yorkshire accent to the fore. You won’t find pineapple either, although it is on the kids’ menu because the littlies have also been very well considered, tying in to Pavilion’s something for every appetite under one roof philosophy. Pasta also appears from the Ciao Brutto kitchen and makes for another formidable decision between a white pork ragu, octopus bolognese, grilled prawn spaghetti and duck ragu lasagne.
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Construction will also continue for a few months, with two rooms still being built behind temporary walls. One is a soft-serve salon, that allows diners to walk in and help themselves to a bank of four soft-serve machines with a self-checkout. In his cheeky way, Connolly finds the concept comical because you pay by weight. “There’s the potential for the kids and those who’ve had a few drinks to get carried away,” he chuckles. “Oops”.
The Green Room – a plush, velvet-lined private dining room will be revealed at the same time. He is most excited by the chunk that has been carved out of this space for the stage. “I love music and working with musicians, so we are going to lean into live music four days a week.”
He already knows there are well over 200 great musicians in the region and is excited to be indulging his passion and creating a great place for people to play in. When not live, curated music will play through a superb sound system that Connolly has personally ensured is fit for purpose, saying: “There’s nothing worse than music that has been turned up too loud to be heard above people’s voices. Instead of enveloping you it penetrates your eardrums. I can’t be having that.”
Connolly’s hands, which he unconsciously runs through his ridiculously good hair, have been across everything from the elegant cream and green enamel servingware to the overall design brief so beautifully executed by Izzard Design. Pavilion is as grounded and authentic as the man himself and there is a level of comfort knowing that it is Sean behind this ambitious venue. He credits his highly experienced team which includes long-time collaborator Julie Woodyear-Smith, for enabling him to do this while living in Australia and says he’d love to get a house here.
“Living between Byron and Queenstown, it couldn’t really get any better. I just haven’t told my wife yet,” he laughs, leading me outside to look back at the building with its sleek, modern barn-like appearance, towering wooden sliders closing it in against the first stormy day of the winter season.
On brighter days, Pavilion opens out to Queenstown Central’s town square and the Remarkables in the distance. It’s this vista that made Connolly say “wow” when business partner Steve Lockwood presented him with the opportunity. It’s wow alright, and as a member of the wider Queenstown community who will be eating, drinking and apres-skiing at Pavilion, I am so happy that the latest “iteration of Sean” has happened here.
