Stanley arrives at Manly Wharf with a custom duck oven and Kiama lobster
Louis Tikaram’s second iteration of his Cantonese restaurant Stanley has opened on the Manly waterfront, bringing a custom-built duck oven and hyper-local seafood to Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
“You have to try the duck. That was a labour of love. It was a Cinderella story getting that thing [the oven] in here, but we did it. You can view it from all sides of the restaurant and you can smell the duck cooking,”
Louis Tikaram has opened the second iteration of Stanley, a 248-seat Cantonese restaurant on the Manly Wharf. The Artemus Group, which purchased the waterfront destination for a reported $110 million in April 2024, commissioned the space to anchor its growing portfolio alongside Felons Seafood. The dining room channels a traditional Cantonese aesthetic with dark timber, woven rattan ceilings, and green and crimson accents. The physical centrepiece is a custom-built duck oven, visible from every table, which Tikaram describes as a Cinderella story to install. That oven roasts Peking duck served either with pancakes or imperial style, where half is carved tableside and the remainder becomes san choy bao. The broader share-style menu balances these classics with local NSW produce, notably Southern Rock lobsters from Kiama served with XO sauce and crispy noodle. Smaller plates include New Zealand Ōra King salmon with calamansi, sesame, and fennel, alongside cold silken tofu with vegetarian XO and crispy wonton. Sommelier Christian Blair directs the wine program, which is displayed on a dedicated cellar wall to encourage what Tikaram calls a choose your own adventure approach. Tikaram returns to Sydney after training at Longrain, Bentley, and Tetsuya’s, and leading E.P. & L.P. in West Hollywood. “Sydney has a massive, massive place in my heart,” he says, though he initially hesitated to tackle the city’s exacting Asian food scene and opened the first Stanley in Brisbane seven years ago. For the diner who crosses a city for a specific dish, the journey to the Northern Beaches is justified by the Peking duck and the Kiama lobster, executed by a chef with serious pedigree. It is a destination for those who want rigorous Cantonese cooking without the central business district traffic, backed by a wine list that demands attention and a share-style format that allows diners to control the final bill. The true significance of this opening extends beyond the arrival of another well-funded group project on the waterfront. It proves that a chef of Tikaram’s calibre will stake his reputation on a suburban location if the backing, the oven, and the produce are right.