There’s no denying that after looking at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art Australia’s latest collection of improbable delights from Diena Georgetti’s wall to Primavera, Yasmin Smith’s installations and the mind-blowing Data Dreams exhibition I was ready to exit into the elevator and straight up to the rooftop restaurant Canvas.
Just like the museum’s ever-changing program of artists, the philosophy behind Canvas relies on two similar ideas. Fine dining should be supported by the museum’s events, the other by a seasonal rotation of a renowned chef-in-residence. The inaugural chef was Englishman Josh Raine replaced by chef James Scott from Scotland.
Current Chef-in-Residence James Scott, Canvas
Photograph: courtesy The Big Group
Scott trained under Michael Caines at the two-Michelin-star Gidleigh Park before moving to Sydney in 2013. He went on to work with Martin Benn at Sepia, then rose to Head Chef at Lumi Dining.
The restaurant’s interior is made up of Scandinavian pine with floor-to-ceiling glass by architect Anthony Gill, with Clement Meadmore-styled furniture from Grazia & Co. Think uber-rich Ikea. Looking straight ahead, you see the Opera House, to the left, the Harbour Bridge and an outdoor sculpture terrace with oversized junkie paraphilia by Australian sculptor Ricky Swallow. As I stepped over the threshold a smiling young man asked if we would like to dine and showed us to a table where we could see all of the above. All very relaxed and no booking required.
Canvas, 2024, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Photograph: Marcel Aucar
Courtesy Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney
Canvas offers a set lunch of two or three courses, with oysters at $5 a half shell and a good wine list with a wide selection from Australia and a small but well-targeted selection from Europe, New Zealand, and Japan. Prices range from $15 a glass for the 2023 Mount Pleasant Estate Semillon to $740 a bottle for the 2005 Pommery Cuvée “Louise Parcelles” Champagne. I started with a bottle of 2023 Aquilani Pinot Grigio from Friuli Italy, $65, which was excellent quality.
For the first course, I had the crab cappelletti served in a clear broth with finger lime, lemon myrtle, and basil, accompanied by a fist-sized chunk of warm sourdough and cultured butter.
For the main, I had the toothfish – miso-marinated and charcoal-grilled, the flesh was succulent and moist, topped with lemon aspen on a purée of roasted heirloom tomato and chilli. A side of roast potatoes and a crisp green leaf salad.
Wagyu tartare, egg yolk, saltbush, Jerusalem artichoke (df, gf)
Photograph: courtesy The Big Group
Each dish was unique – the flavours distinct yet perfectly balanced, blending into something new and memorable. Service was fast and capable. Of the six or so tables in the dining room, at least four had someone go to the kitchen to compliment the chef. One table of Japanese diners even went en masse to pay their respects.
Limiting the Canvas service to a single lunch sitting and some private functions allows Scott to craft a small, tight, and ambitious menu – backed by friendly, knowledgeable floor staff.
M.D.R. is a widely travelled gastronome and critic of taste and culture.
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Sydney
Serving Wednesday to Sunday, 11:30am to 4:30pm, offering a two-course menu for $95 or three courses for $120.
Originally published in print – Art Almanac, March 2026 issue, pp. 40–42
