Less than a year after opening to considerable acclaim in Sydney's Barangaroo precinct, Watermans finds itself at a crossroads — its founding executive chef departed, its Mediterranean brief abandoned, and its identity recast as modern Greek dining. Darryl Martin's exit was shaped by forces both intimate and institutional: a family confronting serious illness, and a creative vision that had quietly diverged from ownership's ambitions. The episode is a reminder that even celebrated beginnings are provisional, and that restaurants, like all human endeavours, are continuously renegotiated.
Watermans loses star chef as Barangaroo two-hat shifts to all-Greek menu
Chef's wife diagnosed with neurological disorder, unable to work or drive, creating financial pressure on the family.
Different perspectives on direction made staying untenable
Mark
So Watermans opened less than a year ago and already lost its executive chef. That's a pretty dramatic turnover for a two-hat restaurant.
Mimi
It is, but the circumstances are more complicated than a typical chef departure. Martin's wife was diagnosed with a neurological disorder that's left her unable to work or drive, which created real financial pressure on the family.
Luke
That's a genuine hardship, and it's worth naming clearly. But the statement also mentions diverging perspectives on direction and vision. How much of this is personal crisis and how much is a genuine disagreement about what the restaurant should be?
Mimi
Martin doesn't separate them. He says it's a combination of both. The personal pressure forced him to look for other opportunities, and at the same time, he and ownership had different ideas about where Watermans was heading.
Mark
And now they're shifting the entire menu from Mediterranean to Greek. Is that something Martin resisted?
Mimi
He never says so explicitly. Ownership describes it as a natural evolution—they say Greek influence was already heavy on the menu. But the timing is worth noting: the menu shift happens right after Martin leaves.
Luke
Here's what I'd want to know: was the menu shift already planned before Martin departed, or did ownership decide to change direction once he was gone? The reporting doesn't tell us that.
Mimi
Fair point. What we know is that Savage and Hildebrandt see the new all-Greek positioning as more focused and elevated. Whether that was always the plan or a response to his departure, we don't have that answer.
Mark
Bentley Restaurant Group has been closing restaurants and selling others. Is Watermans part of a broader restructuring, or is this just normal portfolio management?
Mimi
It's definitely part of a larger pattern. They've closed Monopole, stepped away from Brasserie 1930, sold Yellow, and closed Bentley Restaurant + Bar. But they're also expanding—adding Ashe and Vespertine. They describe it as pruning and preparing for growth.
Luke
So they're being selective about which venues they keep. Watermans made it through that filter, but with a new menu and without its star chef. That's a significant change to the product.
Mark
What happens to Martin now?
Mimi
He's working on consultancy projects and looking toward new opportunities he expects to pursue after the new year. He's not disappearing from the industry.
Luke
But he's not running a kitchen right now, which is a different position for someone who just earned two hats.
Il Polso
- A two-hat restaurant earned its accolades in record time, then lost its executive chef before completing its first year — the speed of both the rise and the rupture is striking.
- Martin's wife's neurological diagnosis left her unable to work or drive, forcing the chef to seek income beyond his role and accelerating a departure that professional tensions alone might not have triggered.
- Ownership framed the pivot from broad Mediterranean to exclusively Greek cuisine as a natural evolution, but the rebranding of the website and the loss of the founding chef signal something more deliberate than gradual drift.
- Bentley Restaurant Group has been aggressively reshaping its portfolio — selling Yellow, closing Monopole and Bentley itself, while opening Ashe and Vespertine — and Watermans' restructuring fits a pattern of consolidation toward tighter, more controlled concepts.
- Martin has moved into consultancy and is watching for opportunities in the new year, leaving Watermans to find new kitchen leadership and prove its refined Greek identity can sustain the recognition it earned under a different vision.
Less than a year after opening to considerable acclaim in Sydney's Barangaroo precinct, Watermans finds itself at a crossroads — its founding executive chef departed, its Mediterranean brief abandoned, and its identity recast as modern Greek dining. Darryl Martin's exit was shaped by forces both intimate and institutional: a family confronting serious illness, and a creative vision that had quietly diverged from ownership's ambitions. The episode is a reminder that even celebrated beginnings are provisional, and that restaurants, like all human endeavours, are continuously renegotiated.
Watermans opened at Barangaroo in late 2025 with real momentum behind it. Backed by Bentley Restaurant Group's Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt, and fronted by executive chef Darryl Martin — whose eastern Mediterranean cooking had built a following at the now-closed Marrickville restaurant Barzaari — the venue earned two Good Food chef's hats almost immediately and was named among Australia's Top 100 restaurants. Less than a year later, Martin is gone, and the restaurant has pivoted entirely to a Greek menu.
The departure was shaped by more than professional disagreement. Martin's wife was recently diagnosed with a neurological disorder that has left her unable to work, drive, or at times be left alone. The diagnosis created immediate financial pressure, pushing Martin to consider income streams beyond his executive role. Alongside that personal weight sat a growing divergence in vision between Martin and ownership — a gap in how each party saw the restaurant's future. Martin spoke of the split with respect, describing his time at Watermans positively while acknowledging that the combination of circumstances made leaving the right call.
Savage and Hildebrandt described the shift to all-Greek dining as a natural evolution rather than a rupture, noting that Greek influence had already been prominent on the original menu. In their view, the narrower focus will produce a more elevated and coherent restaurant. The website now positions Watermans plainly as modern Greek dining.
The change fits a broader pattern of restructuring at Bentley Restaurant Group. In the past year, the group sold Yellow to its head chef, closed Monopole and Bentley Restaurant + Bar, and stepped away from Brasserie 1930 — while simultaneously opening Ashe, a South-East Asian grill, and its bar sibling Vespertine. Savage and Hildebrandt, who previously ran the award-winning Cirrus seafood restaurant nearby until their lease expired in 2024, have described the strategy as pruning for control and preparing for growth.
Martin, meanwhile, is already consulting and expects new opportunities to emerge in the new year. He remains proud of what the kitchen achieved under his leadership. For Watermans, a new chapter begins — one with a tighter culinary identity and, for now, an empty seat at the top of the kitchen.
Watermans arrived at Barangaroo in late 2025 with considerable momentum. The restaurant, backed by Bentley Restaurant Group owners Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt, earned two Good Food chef's hats almost immediately, built on the strength of executive chef Darryl Martin's eastern Mediterranean cooking. The accolades came fast—the venue was recognized among Australia's Top 100 restaurants. Less than a year later, that story has fractured. Martin has departed, and the restaurant has abandoned its original Mediterranean brief entirely, pivoting to an all-Greek menu.
Martin's exit was not a simple professional disagreement. The chef cited a combination of personal and professional pressures that made staying untenable. His wife was recently diagnosed with a neurological disorder that has left her unable to work, unable to drive, and at times unable to be left alone. The diagnosis created immediate financial strain on the family, forcing Martin to consider additional income streams beyond his executive role. Layered on top of this personal crisis were what he described as differing perspectives on the restaurant's direction and vision—a gap between his conception of what Watermans should be and what Savage and Hildebrandt wanted it to become. Martin framed his departure with respect for everyone involved, saying he looked back on his time at the restaurant positively, but the weight of circumstance and disagreement made the decision to leave the right one.
Martin had come to Watermans with a strong track record. Before the Barangaroo appointment, he had built a reputation at Barzaari, a Marrickville restaurant that has since closed, where his signature eastern Mediterranean dishes found an audience. When Savage and Hildebrandt brought him in to front their high-profile new venture, they were betting on that pedigree. Hildebrandt noted that the combination of Martin's flavours with Savage's finesse and plating created early kitchen alchemy—the kind of partnership that produces two-hat restaurants.
The menu shift to all-Greek dining represents a deliberate recalibration by ownership. Savage and Hildebrandt described the change as a natural evolution rather than a dramatic departure. They noted that Greek influence was already substantial on the original menu, so moving to an exclusively Greek offering was not a seismic shift. In their view, the new direction will make the restaurant more focused and more elevated, positioning Watermans as a better venue overall. The rebranding on the restaurant's website now identifies it as modern Greek dining, a cleaner positioning than the broader Mediterranean umbrella that Martin had worked under.
This departure and pivot sit within a larger pattern of restructuring at Bentley Restaurant Group. Savage and Hildebrandt have been actively pruning their portfolio, describing the strategy as preparing for growth by maintaining full control over venues and focusing on restaurants of a certain scale and size. In 2025, they sold the plant-based restaurant Yellow to its long-serving head chef, Sander Nooij, and a business partner. Later that year, they closed Monopole and stepped away from Brasserie 1930 at Capella Sydney. In August, Bentley Restaurant + Bar closed. Simultaneously, the group has expanded, adding Ashe, a contemporary South-East Asian grill, and Vespertine, a bar sibling, both in Sydney's CBD. The portfolio now includes Eleven Barrack, King Clarence, and Watermans.
Savage and Hildebrandt are seasoned operators in the Barangaroo precinct. They previously ran Cirrus, an award-winning seafood restaurant just steps from Watermans, from 2016 until their lease expired in 2024. That experience has given them a clear-eyed view of what works in the market and what doesn't, and the willingness to make changes quickly when circumstances demand it.
Martin, for his part, said he was grateful for the opportunity and proud of what Watermans achieved in its brief time under his leadership. He emphasized the significance of earning two hats and the recognition among Australia's top restaurants. He is already working on consultancy projects and looking toward opportunities that he expects will materialize after the new year. The departure marks the end of one chapter for the restaurant and the beginning of another—one in which the kitchen will operate under new leadership and a more tightly defined culinary identity.
Citazioni salienti
This disorder has left my wife no longer able to work, drive or safely be left alone at times, putting pressure on our financial stability and requiring me to look at additional revenue streams.— Chef Darryl Martin
There was already a heavy Greek influence on the menu, and moving to an all-Greek offering is not a huge change. We see this as a positive evolution, and believe the new menu will be more focused, more elevated.— Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt, Bentley Restaurant Group owners
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