What to expect at SingleThread residency at Bathers’ Pavilion in Mosman, Sydneey
For one night only, catch a rare behind-the-scenes look at renowned US restaurant SingleThread as you enjoy a bespoke 10-course tasting menu.
Updated ,first published
Few terms ping my questionable value radar like “restaurant residence.” Maybe you’ve been to one of them; An exciting international chef takes over an Australian venue for a few weeks, sends out some localized versions of his signature dishes, and you’re left wondering whether $600 per person might be better spent at one of Sydney’s existing major event restaurants (or take a trip to New York, Tokyo, or the French Riviera to experience the real thing).
But last year’s partnership between Bathers’ Pavilion and UK restaurant L’Enclume was no such residence. Over four hours, perhaps longer, it was a well-deserved display of precision and harmony, and my best meal of 2025. I will long remember eating chef Simon Rogan’s marron with wax flower jelly, crane egg, mussel juice and buttermilk, while overlooking Balmoral Bay.
This residence was successful thanks to an extremely detailed collaborative process between Bathers’ and L’Enclume, and Mosman’s fine dining restaurant looks even more determined to deliver a “world-class” experience with its takeover of California’s three-Michelin-starred SingleThread in late July.
I had the pleasure of hosting a L’Enclume dinner last year, and Good Food will once again partner with Bathers for a special event during this residency. I’ll be hosting a Q&A session with Kyle and Katina Connaughton from SingleThread, as well as Bathers’ Pavilion executive chef Aaron Ward and their team.
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At the dinner on Wednesday, August 5, chefs and sommeliers will also be on hand to share stories, answer questions and interact with guests; The 10-course meal will be served as a way to offer a better understanding of what really goes on beyond the passage, from cooking techniques to the development process of iconic dishes.
SingleThread is run by husband-and-wife duo Kyle and Katina Connaughton in Sonoma County, a two-hour drive north of San Francisco, and “California’s seasonality through a Japanese lens” is its signature talk. The farm-focused restaurant opened in 2016 and was awarded its third Michelin star in 2018, and currently shares first place with New York’s Le Bernardin and nine other restaurants in Paris-based global food guide La Liste.
Bathers’ Pavilion executive chef Aaron Ward recently returned from an eight-night visit to Sonoma where he met the Connaughtons, visited their regenerative farm, and immersed himself in the SingleThread kitchen. Accompanied by Bathers’ restaurant manager Jessica Mead (who was there to check out SingleThread’s guest-focused hospitality inspired by Japan’s multi-course kaiseki format), Ward also dined at SingleThread on his first day.
“The dungeness crab served with some egg pudding and last season’s preserved tomato were particularly incredible, but what was most impressive was the flow between the dishes,” he says.
“It was a seamless experience from start to finish, which is one of the most important things to get right in a tasting menu.”
Local ceramicists are working on special tableware for the residence. Artist Alesandro Ljubicic creates an installation for the entrance. The wine team is hard at work sourcing bottles connecting California, Australia and France, and SingleThread’s head pastry chef Emma Horowitz will descend on Sydney two weeks before the residency to develop the desserts.
Kyle Connaughton is still developing the SingleThread plates for Bathers, but he can confirm that malted potatoes with sea urchin, leeks and yuzu-kosho, and short rib jus-enriched wagyu with carrots and caramelised mugi (barley) are a lock.
“We want to reflect Sydney through the SingleThread lens,” says Connaughton. “What can we find as common ground? What feels like home? And what is unique to Australia?”
“We’re really interested in exploring Australian seafood using unique produce we’ve never had access to. We recently had a shared dinner with Neil Perry in Copenhagen and he brought pearl meat we’d never seen or experienced before.”
Staying true to the traditional kaiseki style, each meal will begin with a rich “hassun” dish consisting of 10 different ingredients. For Hassun, Rotherwood-grown herbs and flowers will be used, as well as items that Katina Connaughton will forage locally.
“At SingleThread we say we ‘tell today’s story through the farmer’s eyes,’ when in fact it’s through Katina’s eyes,” says Kyle Connaughton. “The way flowers are integrated into dishes and presentations is our way of bringing the outdoors in and showing what our day feels like.”
The Connaughtons are bringing a full team to Sydney for the collaboration, and the 10-course tasting menu costs $690 per guest before drinks, matching the restaurant’s price in California. There will be four levels of wine pairings (plus a non-alcoholic match), starting at $290 per person for the “Extraordinary Flight” and going up to $1,200 for the “Unforgettable” option, headlined by the 1996 Penfolds Grange and 2010 Chateau d’Yquem.
“The opportunity to do something together and create that moment is truly special. Guests who come in these few short weeks will have an experience they wouldn’t have had at any other time.”
Good Food x SingleThread x Bathers’ Pavilion The dinner will be hosted by Good Food’s national restaurant editor and co-editor on Wednesday, August 5. Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. Book using this method connection.
The SingleThread program will run Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner, from July 28 to August 23. Reservations can be made at: Pavilion of the Bathers website or call 02 9969 5050.
Callan Boys is Good Food’s national dining out and restaurant editor.Connect with: X or email.
