05/03/2026
A message from chef-owner Phil Wood:
When our lease expires in late May, we will close Ursula’s Paddington. Our final service will be Saturday 23 May.
This is not something I ever imagined writing. Running a small independent restaurant the way we believe it should be run has become increasingly difficult and, with the lease coming to an end, it felt like the right moment to close this chapter.
When we opened Ursula’s, the goal was simple - to create a small independent restaurant that was generous to its staff and guests, deeply connected to its neighbourhood, and built with care and integrity.
I can honestly say, with great pride, that we achieved this.
Over the years we’ve been lucky to have an extraordinary group of hospitality professionals grace the floor and the kitchen. They’ve helped shape this little restaurant into a beautifully warm place, full of fantastic regulars and genuinely wonderful guests.
Thank you for the birthdays, anniversaries, date nights and ordinary Tuesdays you chose to spend with us.
I’m incredibly proud of the food we’ve cooked here over the years. Uniquely modern Australian and very much of its place. The cornerstone of the menu from early on has been that Moreton Bay bug pasta with crustacean butter. My perfect Ursula’s meal would start with oysters with Champagne mignonette and salmon roe and egg sandwiches, followed by bug pasta and roast prawns to share, then roast chicken with konbu butter and steak with wasabi and lime accompanied by Paris mash. Dessert would have to be golden syrup dumplings.
In a sea of beige dining rooms we wanted to bring colour and fun back to dining. It was a joy working with the ever-talented Brem Perera to create our golden-hued room. Over lockdown, Lis and I spent countless hours setting and resetting our dining table at home to select the crockery, glassware and cutlery. We pored over every detail: the mismatched Maison Balzac water glasses, the scalloped dinner plates, the hand-painted lampshades and the menu illustrations by Lis’ favourite illustrator, New York-based Happy Menocal.
Seeing it all come together felt a little surreal, and we’ve loved sharing it with Sydney and those of you who have visited us from all around the world.
If Ursula’s has meant something to you, we’d love to welcome you in before our final service. So let’s toast to the next ten weeks, and give Ursula’s the send-off she deserves.
