Redfern’s former Lottie rooftop is getting a Japanese makeover.
The space at The Eve Hotel is becoming Tenjo, a new 100 seat Japanese rooftop venue from the team behind The Apollo, Cho Cho San and Olympus.
Tenjo is expected to open in November 2026, bringing sushi, sashimi, tempura, yakitori, grilled seafood and claypot rice to 8 Baptist Street, Redfern.
Japanese food, rooftop drinks and a very strong Sydney hospitality team behind it. Tenjo already feels like one to watch for summer.
A new chapter for the rooftop
Lottie had a short but well regarded run at The Eve Hotel, earning a Chef Hat in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide before closing in August.
Liquid & Larder wrapped up both Lottie and Bar Julius, and TOGA Group has now handed the spaces to The Apollo Group.
That means Jonathan Barthelmess and Sam Christie are expanding their presence inside The Eve, where they already run Olympus downstairs.
Tenjo is taking over the former Lottie rooftop at The Eve Hotel.
The team knows Japanese food
Barthelmess and Christie are already well known for Cho Cho San in Potts Point, which has been serving modern Japanese food for more than a decade.
The thinking for Tenjo is simple. A lighter Japanese menu feels right for a rooftop, and the venue is designed to work in a few different ways.
Sit at the sushi counter, stop in for a drink on the terrace or settle in for a longer dinner.
Sushi, yakitori and claypot rice
Fredy Lim, formerly of Sushi E, will lead the kitchen.
Australian seafood, meat and vegetables will be handled with traditional Japanese techniques, with sushi prepared at the counter in full view of diners.
The menu will also cover sashimi, tempura, grilled chicken, seafood, vegetables and yakitori skewers.
Frankly, leftover rice becoming tomorrow’s onigiri is the kind of detail we can get behind.
Expect sushi, sashimi, tempura, yakitori and claypot rice when Tenjo opens.
Then there are the drinks
Bartender Matt Whiley has created 10 cocktails, each built around a Japanese fruit and linked to a classic cocktail style.
Look out for a yuzu and rum slushie, a sudachi gimlet and a peach highball.
Christie is also assembling the saké list, alongside wines chosen to work with the food or stand nicely on their own at the bar.
The rooftop keeps its retractable glass roof and leafy George Livissianis designed setting, while hotel guests will also be able to order Tenjo food and drinks by the pool.
Sushi at the counter, a yuzu slushie on the terrace and a rooftop pool next door. Redfern is not easing quietly into summer.
And there is another opening coming
Tenjo is only part of what is happening at The Eve.
The former Bar Julius space will become Baptiste, a new French restaurant also expected to open in November.
Details are still fairly tightly held, but it means two new restaurants are arriving inside the same Redfern precinct at almost the same time.
We will be watching both.
Tenjo
📍 Where: The Eve Hotel, 8 Baptist Street, Redfern
🍣 What: Japanese rooftop venue
📅 Opening: Expected November 2026
🍸 Expect: Sushi, sashimi, tempura, yakitori, donabe claypot rice, saké and Japanese inspired cocktails
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