First Look: Saint Peter, Paddington

Josh Niland with a 13kg wild-caught mulloway

Josh Niland is poised to open his new seafood-focused restaurant on Sydney’s Oxford Street next week. We chat to the man himself and take a look at what’s on the menu (and inside the dry-ageing cabinet).

Saint Peter, 362 Oxford St, Paddington, NSW, saintpeter.com.au

Photography by Nikki To.

Interview by Sophie McComas.

Petuna ocean trout rillettes and radish

“The whole reason for this dish is to utilise our by-product,” says Josh Niland. “We’re buying so much fish for Saint Peter and we have a purpose for every part – the offal, the scales, everything. There will be trim from the cheeks, heads, bellies, the bits and bobs, so we’re putting all of that in salt, then we rinse it, poach it in oil and shred it up to make the rillettes. Fish is so expensive; it’s a good way to use all the parts. There’s a little mayo and lots of herbs in there and also some roast almonds. It’s very textural. We’re using witlof leaves instead of bread to make it a bit lighter, san choy bau-style.”

Shark Bay red mullet with asparagus, broad beans and fennel

“This dish is a good example of how the menu will change depending on the season. We bone the red mullet and cook it in a pan until the skin is crisp. It’s served whole, but it’s easy to eat because we’ve taken out the bones, and we pair it with really fat new-season asparagus, broad beans and a fennel vinaigrette.”

Sea urchin crumpet

“We’re buying live, fresh, local sea urchin. This is red urchin from Newcastle. Each shell contains three portions, and once we’ve collected enough shells we’ll scrub them down and fill each one with enough portions of roe for the order, so people can scoop out the roe onto their crumpets themselves. You’re getting a great crumpet, too – the yeasted batter is cooked to order in a one-egg pan and served with lots of chives, salt and pepper. 

“Why a crumpet? Everyone does blini and caviar. I love them, they’re delicious, but I wanted something more identifiably Australian.”

Marron salad with avocado, new-season peas and shoots

“We poach our marron, which is from Western Australia, and toss it with a vanilla and chardonnay dressing. I like how it looks nice and neat. Our waiters will let diners know what the garnish is each day, which gives us the option of being creative and playing with new produce. I’m treating the vegetables the same way as I’m treating the fish at Saint Peter: we’ll come up with what we’re serving on the day depending on what’s fresh.”

Cleveland Bay halibut and 40 cloves of garlic

“This dish is inspired by the old-school roast chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. Halibut is so robust and full of gelatin, I wanted to put it with something that’s also pretty hearty. The garlic is like a garlic lolly, with no heat in it at all – it’s so sweet. We caramelise it with sugar, butter and some halibut stock then add it to the pan with the whole fish and some native thyme. We roast it in the oven until the juices come together in a sort of sticky, rich, amazing gravy. It sticks to your lips. It’s so delicious.

“The halibut is from Cleveland Bay in Northern Queensland. It’s a really special product. They’re quite shocked that it’s at the market actually. It’s really cool that we’ve got it. We’re serving it for two – we always want to have something on the menu served to share.”

Saint Peter interiors

“Originally Julie, my wife, and I really wanted the room – which was previously occupied by Toko’s sushi train – to be bigger. Toko had the sushi train right through the room, and the roof was a metre lower than it is now. When you walked in it felt like a tunnel.

“We were fortunate that we found Australian sandstone on one wall, then convict brick on the other. When we drilled down into the floor we found concrete right down the bottom, which we grinded and polished. Our architect, David Boyle, assisted with the design, and was involved early on. We also had really proactive builders. We’ll be able to seat about 36 in the space when we open.

“We’re waiting on our request for a park bench out front to be approved by the council. Our hope is that customers can sit there while waiting for their takeaway fish and chips. In my opinion it’ll be the best fish and chips in town.”

Saint Peter’s static coolroom

“We designed our static coolroom with a custom-built door, and one section is dedicated just to fish. Copper coiling brings the temperature down to between zero and one degree. There’s also no fan, so the fish doesn’t dry out, which prolongs the shelf life. We hang the fish on a hook so it doesn’t sweat in its juices. The flavour is so intense after it’s been aged, it’s ridiculous.”