Berowra Waters Inn

Berowra Waters Inn is a destination restaurant located at Berowra Waters on Berowra Creek, a tributary of the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The property lies near Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and is approximately 50 minutes from central Sydney by road and water connections. Its setting is an important part of the experience: the venue is accessible only by private ferry or by airplane, making it distinct from conventional urban restaurants and reinforcing its identity as a destination for a deliberately planned meal. The site began as a guest house dating from the 1930s. In 1975, Tony and Gay Bilson purchased the property and developed it into a significant restaurant project. The existing Edwardian-style teahouse had substantial engineering problems, so the building was closed and subjected to a major redesign rather than simply being renovated. From 1976 to 1983, Australian architect Glenn Murcutt reshaped the property in a distinctive Australian vernacular style. The resulting building combines a corrugated-metal roof, glass louvre windows, and a Sydney sandstone base, with the structure set among native eucalypts and angophoras. The project is notable both architecturally and culturally: Berowra Waters Inn is one of the relatively few Murcutt buildings regularly open to the public and helped make his work accessible through a functioning hospitality venue rather than a private residence or institutional commission. The redevelopment also revealed evidence of a much older human presence at the site. During excavation, Indigenous Australian midden material was found near the property boundary. Radiocarbon dating placed the remains at nearly 10,000 years old, indicating a long history of Aboriginal association with the area. This archaeological context adds another layer to the inn's significance beyond its twentieth-century architecture and restaurant history. Berowra Waters Inn became associated with an influential period in Australian dining. Its menu changed regularly and was described as combining classic French techniques and traditions with Modern Australian cooking. The restaurant's appeal came from the combination of cuisine, landscape, architecture, and the unusual journey required to reach it. For many years it represented the leading edge of Australian design and cuisine, and it was repeatedly listed in Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide editions across several decades. Tony Bilson withdrew from the restaurant's day-to-day operation in 1983. Gay Bilson continued running the venue with chef Janni Kyritsis until her retirement in 1995. The restaurant subsequently continued under later management, and the available reference material identifies head chef and owner Brian Geraghty as its operator. Berowra Waters Inn is therefore best understood as a hospitality brand centered on a particular place and experience rather than as a chain or packaged consumer product: a remote waterside restaurant whose reputation rests on its architecture, setting, culinary heritage, and access by water or air.

Berowra Waters Inn occupies a site on Berowra Creek, near the Hawkesbury River and Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park in New South Wales. The property originated as a guest house dating from the 1930s. Its geography has always shaped the nature of the business: the venue is separated from ordinary road access and is reached by private ferry or airplane. That unusual approach helped establish the inn as a destination rather than a neighborhood restaurant. In 1975, restaurateurs Tony and Gay Bilson purchased the property. The existing Edwardian-style teahouse was found to have major engineering defects, and the owners chose to close it and pursue a comprehensive redesign. Between 1976 and 1983, architect Glenn Murcutt redesigned the inn. His solution used materials and forms associated with an Australian architectural language, including a corrugated-metal roof, glass louvre windows, and a Sydney sandstone base. The building was placed within a landscape of eucalypts and angophoras, closely connecting the dining environment to the surrounding bush and waterways. The construction work also brought archaeological evidence to light. Aboriginal midden remains were discovered near the property boundary during excavation and were radiocarbon-dated to nearly 10,000 years ago. The finding documented a very long Indigenous relationship with the location and gave the site cultural and historical significance predating the guest house and restaurant by many millennia. Once the rebuilt venue was operating, Berowra Waters Inn developed a reputation for joining architecture, landscape, and ambitious cuisine. Its menu changed frequently and drew on both classic French cooking and Modern Australian ideas. This combination reflected a period when Australian restaurants were developing a more self-conscious contemporary identity while still engaging with European culinary traditions. The inn's remote location and Murcutt-designed setting made the meal itself part of a broader destination experience. In 1983, Tony Bilson stepped away from the restaurant's daily operation. Gay Bilson continued the business with chef Janni Kyritsis until Gay retired in 1995. The restaurant remained an important reference point in Australian food and design culture and appeared in numerous Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide editions, from the 1980s through the 2010s. The available reference material identifies Brian Geraghty as the current owner and head chef. Under this stewardship, Berowra Waters Inn remains associated with place-based hospitality, architectural distinction, and a dining experience reached by water or air.

• 1995

  Gay Bilson retires

  [1]Berowra Waters Innen.wikipedia.org

  Gay Bilson retired after operating the restaurant with Janni Kyritsis for approximately twelve years.

• 1983

  The Murcutt redesign is completed

  [1]Berowra Waters Innen.wikipedia.org

  The rebuilt venue was completed. Tony Bilson left daily operations, while Gay Bilson and Janni Kyritsis continued running the restaurant.

• 1976

  Glenn Murcutt begins the redesign

  [1]Berowra Waters Innen.wikipedia.org

  After engineering problems were identified in the former teahouse, Glenn Murcutt began a major architectural redesign.

• 1975

  The Bilsons acquire the property

  [1]Berowra Waters Innen.wikipedia.org

  Tony and Gay Bilson purchased the Berowra Waters property and began developing it into a restaurant.

• 1930

  The property functions as a guest house

  [1]Berowra Waters Innen.wikipedia.org

  The site is documented as originating as a guest house dating from the 1930s.

A remote, architecture-led destination restaurant combining Australian landscape and hospitality with French-influenced and Modern Australian cuisine.

• Fine dining restaurant

  Berowra Waters Inn restaurant

  The inn's principal offering is destination restaurant dining in a remote waterside setting. The menu has historically changed frequently and has been described as combining classic French cuisine with Modern Australian cooking. The experience is inseparable from the journey to the site, the surrounding bush landscape, and the Glenn Murcutt-designed building.

• Destination hospitality

  Waterside hospitality experience

  Berowra Waters Inn is known for the complete setting surrounding the meal: access by private ferry or airplane, views and proximity to Berowra Creek, and dining within a notable Australian architectural work. The business began as a guest house, but the referenced material identifies its contemporary identity primarily as a restaurant.

• 1983

  Shift day-to-day restaurant leadershipStrategy

  Background

  Following completion of the rebuilt venue, Tony Bilson changed his role in the operation.

  Action taken

  Tony Bilson withdrew from daily operations, while Gay Bilson and chef Janni Kyritsis continued running the restaurant.

  Aftermath

  The restaurant continued its development under Gay Bilson and Janni Kyritsis until Gay's retirement in 1995.

  Source

• 1976

  Close and comprehensively redesign the venueStrategy

  Background

  The Edwardian-style teahouse acquired by Tony and Gay Bilson had significant engineering problems, making a straightforward continuation of operations impractical.

  Action taken

  The property was closed and architect Glenn Murcutt was commissioned to redesign it between 1976 and 1983.

  Aftermath

  The resulting building became a defining part of Berowra Waters Inn's identity and one of the few Glenn Murcutt buildings regularly open to the public.

  Source

1. 1Berowra Waters Innen.wikipedia.org