Kitchen by Mike finds home at the National Gallery of Australia

Posted on 25 September, 2026

Joining the long list of permanent works of art which make the National Gallery of Australia worth visiting is a culinary blockbuster.

Esteemed Sydney chef, restaurateur and Kitchen by Mike founder Mike McEnearney has settled into a permanent and iconic space.

Taking over the spectacular cavern underneath the oculus, the new Oculus Café x Kitchen by Mike is a light-filled venue on the ground floor of the Gallery – in a space designed by Kerstin Thompson Architects and overlooking the Australian Garden. Open daily from 8 am until 4 pm, it brings breakfast, lunch, takeaway, coffee, sweets and an all-Australian drinks list into one of the country’s most significant cultural buildings.

For Mike, the space is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

“This is an internationally known building, the most important art gathering in Australia,” he says. “The gravitas of the situation is not lost on me. It’s massive, what an honour.”

It’s also been a long time coming.

Kitchen by Mike first appeared at the National Gallery as a pop-up in 2024, operating from the lower ground floor while the institution worked through a major capital project and reimagined its visitor dining experience. The final result is this new café, placed more centrally in the natural flow of the building.

“They’ve turned this open space, where everyone walks past, into a café,” says Mike. “Which makes total sense.”

The new café has capacity for about 112 people, with outdoor seating and takeaway also part of the mix. On opening day yesterday, Mike reports his team had already served well over 500 people, a promising sign for a venue designed to meet the rhythms of gallery-goers, city workers, tourists and locals alike.

 

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Breakfast brings a simple à la carte menu shaped by the same wholefood ethos that has followed Kitchen by Mike from Sydney to Canberra. Expect dishes such as chia pudding with strawberries cooked with lemon myrtle, avocado on toast with miso and lime, and gluten-free granola made with buckwheat and served with poached fruit and yoghurt.

From 11.30 am, the offer shifts into the canteen-style lunch Kitchen by Mike is known for, with seasonal salads, roasted meats, fresh sourdough and ingredients sourced wherever possible from Canberra and regional NSW.

Mike says he connection to local providores is part of his culinary culture. “It’s seasonal and local, that’s what I am known for.”

That local approach will deepen over time. Mike says he plans to visit Canberra regularly, dropping in every month or two to support the team, refine the menu and build relationships with producers. As the creative director of the Carriageworks Farmers Market in Sydney, he says those connections are central to the way he works.

“That’s what floats my boat, forging relationships,” he says. “It has to be authentic.”

That reverence for relationships extends to customers, with Mike standing prominently behind the counter, welcoming customers and enjoying an exchange as he heaps fresh salads and proteins upon retro enamel plates.

Think darkly roasted pumpkin with coconut yoghurt, a slaw laden with roast pecans, a vibrant green pea salad, and chickpeas and kale. There are a selection of sandwiches and wraps, and rustic home-style baked goods and cakes.

The bread, too, is part of the plan. While the café is currently using Sonoma, Mike is waiting on ovens that will allow the team to bake its own sourdough on site, a detail that matters to a chef who says bread and butter can be a meal in itself if both are good enough.

The café’s permanent move also gives the Gallery a hospitality offer that feels aligned with its architecture, gardens and public purpose. It is relaxed enough for coffee and cake, substantial enough for lunch, and considered enough to feel like part of the visit rather than an afterthought.

For Mike, who says he loves Canberra and has long admired the city’s dining scene (when pressed he nominates Bar Rochford as a fave) the new venue is both a responsibility and a thrill.

“I’m stoked to be here,” he says. “Good food and art are two of life’s simple pleasures. To be able to serve that within one of Australia’s great cultural hubs is incredibly special.”