(Last visited May 11, 2023.) Next up on our word-of-mouth recommended list is Saint Peter located in Paddington just about an hour's walk from downtown or a 6-minute car ride. You know what butchers are right? The guys who create beautiful cuts of beef? Well, here they're known as "The Fish Butchers"! They create INCREDIBLE dishes from various different sea creatures and they don't waste a single part of them! We even had ice cream with the proteins of a snapper's eyes! This place is brilliant! They only offer 2 lunchtime seatings Thursday through Sunday and 2 dinner seatings Tuesday through Sunday. We were there for dinner and it was $195.00 per person for a 7-course tasting menu that was absolutely DIVINE! Atmosphere/Appearance: Set in a fairly quiet, but downtown-ish like area of Paddington (a district of Sydney) between downtown Sydney and Bondi Beach is this incredible establishment. It's a part of the Grand Hotel, but the restaurant literally have 12 seats so you NEED to make reservations well in advance. The restaurant is elongated with the "kitchen" and prep area pretty much running along the entire left side with seats that pull right up to the counter. Such a cool experience. It felt so intimate and personal. Service: No single person took care of us, but it was more like the entire staff took turns talking to us, pouring us wine and telling us about each dish. I loved that. Food: So the menu here changes all the time since they use freshly caught specimen and use EVERY PART OF IT. Here was our menu! 1st Course) Line Caught Rainbow Runner Fantastic. Warm, comforting, incredibly complex flavors that worked so well together. Good salt, good savory-ness. (2nd Course) Fish Butchery Charcuterie On this board was yogurt churned butter, yellowfin tuna + marie cod chorizo, tuna cured for 1 week then hung for 6 weeks. (My favorite. Tasted like a mild jerky.) Marlin (a bit fishy, mild), rock flathead mortadella with black pepper. (Least favorite, gave me bologna vibes). This idea was kinda all over the place, but I really appreciated the idea. (3rd Course) Charcoal Pips The tortolini was made with squid ink. Whole mixture with clams was very balanced with a good buttery flavor. (4th Course) Southern Calamari & Berrima Octopus It's supposed to be a wild take on spaghetti bolognese. Lol. It was a bit on the salty side for me and the natural textures of the sea creatures made it difficult for me to eat. (5th Course). Line Caught Mahi Mahi On The Bone Excellent. Cooked perfectly. The beet root added a great texture to every bite and the flavors were just amazing. Savory, not too salty and so hard to describe. (6th Course). 14-Day Dry Aged Tuna In Swordfish Bacon The tuna was excellent, but wrapping it in a swordfish bacon may have been a little too much for me. The flavors competed instead of working together. Then to add a "pumpkin & bone sauce" just really went over the top. It felt like there was a lot happening. The celeriac was just... I don't know. Lol. I guess you need a vegetable with your meat. (7th Course). Snapper Eye Ice Cream Instead of using traditional egg whites or egg yolks, the man, Josh Niland uses the proteins from the snapper eye to make the ice cream. Lol. What a guy. Fantastic. (8th Course). Valrhona Chocolate Tart 64% chocolate from Madagascar. 34% milkfat cream. It was so creamy, a bit bitter, but super soft and I loved it. Value: I didn't mention the price in my initial intro, but this is Michelin Star level quality. Yes, you will break the bank. Lol. In conclusion, dining here was a phenomenal experience. I loved how well everything was prepared, presented and executed. Well done. I can't wait to make a return to try a whole new set of dishes! read more

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A truly exquisite experience for my last night in Sydney. Saint Peter is a fine dining restaurant that creates culinary art using fish, including the desserts, as well as incorporating the majority of the parts as ingredients- even bone! We began with a round of cocktails, followed by oysters and champagne. The oysters were so delicious, we got a second round. As for the tasting menu, we opted for the beverage pairing, which was the perfect addition to enhance each course. The attention to detail, presentation, and depth of flavor and texture was such a unique experience. We ended our extended five hour stay with a round of amaro for a smooth finish. The service was excellent. When we first were seated, which happened to be at the best table in house, I was greeted by the waitstaff with a handwritten birthday card. Each person that came to the table wished me a happy birthday. Once the meal began, every dish and beverage pairing was presented with a detailed story that made each course special. read more

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This might be my favorite restaurant in Sydney. We were lucky to find a last minute lunch appointment and ordered the tasting menu, which was all based around seafood. There are some unique and interesting dishes like the "chorizo" and empanadas which had fish as the protein (sorry, I forgot what they were), but you could have been convinced the protein was meat. The tasting menu changes frequently, but the chef's favorite, Salt and Vinegar Mackerel, seems to always be there. The uni brioche add-on was great and highly recommended. Also, the custard tart was amazingly light, fluffy and delicious. We would have liked to order the 20 day aged tuna steak but it's pretty big and wouldn't have allowed us to try a lot of other dishes. read more

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Such wonderful food -- clever whilst still being crowd-pleasing and familiar. The John Dory was a real highlight, but hard to choose from so many out of this world plates. The food saved a REALLY poor front of house in general (and was good enough to still get four stars, so do pay a visit!): 1. Waiters incessantly stuck their fingers into my bowl/over my plate to the point of nearly touching it. At this level you ought to explain without pointing and should never violate the "airspace" of a dish. The native fruits were narrated "from smallest to largest" but a gross pink finger nonetheless dutifully hovered millimetres away from each item (even after I'd asked repeatedly and moved the dish away from the hovering hand). Gross. 2. A couple of times drinks were brought to the wrong person at the table. Instead of going back around to the correct side, the waiter just leaned over the table to drop the drink in the right spot from the wrong side. 3. After declining a top-up from the bottle and switching to cocktails a different waiter came and began topping up. 4. Noodle broth bowls were left on the table, empty, until the end of the following course. (As in: someone actually served the next course, and didn't realize!) 5. Lots of inane "Feel free to mix [the dish] together" chat from the waiters. The nadir was a step by step explanation of how to enjoy a dish comprising of mackerel, sourdough bread, and butter that genuinely seemed like it was going to conclude with the waiter reminding us to open wide, put the food in our mouths, chew thoroughly whilst enjoying the taste and texture, swallow, perhaps sip our drinks if thirsty or simply to refresh the palette, and then repeat until satisfied. 6. Drinks from the bar are served on slightly cheap leather coasters that cling to the cold glass and have to be dislodged when drinking (or end up in the food). 7. Plates occasionally served from the outside of the table in (meaning more waiters leaning over food) rather than what is obviously and inarguably the accepted standard of from the inside out. So basic I couldn't believe it kept happening. Really an amazing kitchen that is close to being very badly let down by some lousy waitstaff, but it's still extraordinary food -- even if you'll likely have a sweaty finger come close to prodding it once it's served. read more

This one is tricky. Purely by the taste of the food, it's good but didn't blow me away (many dishes had too much salt). But the creativity is unparallele. If you like seafood and want something out of the ordinar, then this is the place for you. read more

Every part of our meal was exceptional. From the time we were greeted to when we left. Each dish was of the highest quality. All the staff, in particular our waitress Erica, provided impeccable, friendly, knowledgeable service. We will definitely be back soon. read more

Amazing night! Incredible food and service! My partner and I loved it! I have wanted to go for so long and am so happy we got to try it! read more

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Visiting from New York City and was introduced to St Peter by local friends. Was quietly skeptical when told St Peter is one of the best restaurants in the world, BUT IT IS!! read more

Everything about our dining experience on February 28th was perfect! The Kitchen's creativity was phenomenal. Service was impeccable would not have changed a thing. I hope I have the opportunity to return in the future. read more

Wonderful, creative but, most importantly, delicious food. Every dish (and every fish) was delicious. I especially liked the mackerel, John Dory, charcuterie, and calamari bolognese. Desserts were also fabulous (sorbets, lemon tart, and trio of petit fours each with a fish element). Service was fantastic. Just a great experience. read more

Creative cookery. Among the finest seafood meals I have experienced. Pietr, the sommelier was a guide to Australian wines and a pleasure to converse with. read more

Having been a resident of the UK, Denmark and Mexico and worked in many other countries and travelled to every continent on this planet I can honestly say that my experience yesterday was the best of the best. Better than Noma or Nobu and countless other fine dining establishments. To top it off meeting Josh who wished me a Happy Birthday made a wonderful day even better. Thank you to your incredible team who anticipated very discreetly whatever one was about to ask for without asking! Flawless. read more

Easily 5 stars across the board. The dinner was exquisite. We started with an assortment of raw Oysters. All were great. The variety changes based on what happens to be available that day, but you can't go wrong with this type of quality. Entrees were the prawns, calamari and Sardines. The sardines were the favorite at the table but the prawns were also very nice. Main dish was the Flathead and the Trout. Both were excellent. Prepared simply and just delectable. I really like that they don't try to over power the dish with too many flavors. Simple preparations that let the fish flavor shine. Fantastic. The lemon tart for dessert was a nice way to close out the evening. The staff and service were also top notch. read more

Saint Peter - Corner Inlet Rock Flathead - Seafood Near Me

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Wonderful experience and can't wait to be back again. I've never had fish served in such a creative way before! I love the clean and organised ambience of the restaurant. From fish charcuterie, pickled mackerel, to grilled trout with crispy skin in pipi emulsion. Every dish was a masterpiece! I loved how they are proud of where the fish were from, how it was caught and how it was cooked. I was a tiny bit disappointed that I didn't have any shellfish but the tastiness of all the dishes more than made up for it. The passion fruit tart was also very delicately plated, the custard was so wobbly they had to discard some as it collapsed. Drinks were also delicious! Yuzu Hi was a great drink. We tried the oysters, I loved how all of them were described with detail - sweet or salty, with seaweed flavor etc. The octopus and calamari with yellow fish tuna nduja was memorable. I can't wait to be back for their next menu! read more

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We traveled from the USA to watch some soccer and see quokkas. My daughter wanted to try this for her birthday and we were able to schedule time in between tours and games. It was so delicious and exceptional portions. We had expected one bite type for tasting and ended up extremely full and happy. The whole environment was lovely. The hosts were both so knowledgeable and friendly. I would recommend being able to watch the chefs make the magic happen instead of the street view. It was just an amazing time. Chef Niland was a joy to watch and speak with. He made my daughters birthday trip perfect. read more

One of the most interesting (in a good way) fish restaurants I have ever been to. Normally not a huge fish eater, this was a great experience. Started with the bonito and loved it. Not only was the fish prepared perfectly, the accompaniment really complimented the flavor. We shared a dry aged fish charcuterie, which was very interesting, though I am not sure how if I loved it as much as I appreciated it. For a main, I had the cod which had incredible crispy skin. Also great Brussels sprouts. Overall the meal was excellent but what made it truly memorable was all the fish options and how uniquely they were prepared. read more

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I couldn't have been more delighted with our experience at St Peter. I went in with high expectations in relation to the food, but it exceeded those expectations with just how clever it was. The creativity and understanding of textures and flavours and layers of deliciousness that underpinned that meal were next level. So complex but so eatable! Even the suggestions about the order in which to eat different morsels made the experience better. It was also one of those rare occasions when I ate absolutely everything on the plate. It was special. I guess the thing I didn't expect though was just how great staff were. They were beautiful; so fully committed to our enjoyment and to giving us a first class experience. It made me think that Josh and his leadership team are just at good at caring about and supporting their people as they are about providing a sublime food experience. And that isn't always the case in a restaurant of this calibre, which is a high stress and often exhausting place to work. So, to everyone at St Peter who played a role in creating our most memorable, delicious and enjoyable evening, thank you so very much. You deserve your incredible success so far, and I feel super lucky to live in the neighbourhood so that I can watch you fly and come back regularly. Thanks for the fishy magic! read more

Food was exquisite, impeccably fresh, delicious and artfully presented. Ambiance delightful, lovely music and we enjoyed watching the chefs work. Very friendly and accessible. We loved this experience! read more

"Are you heading to church?" That's what my Uber driver asked when he saw that I was on the way to a place called Saint Peter on a Sunday morning. I can tell you, if the food they serve was a religion I would be a convert cause Praise The Lord: this food is AMAZING. I arrived around 11.15 am on a Sunday and was able to catch a table without reservation, I was told that I had to leave at 2 pm but that seemed reasonable to me. I actually came here by googling Sea Urchin / Uni dishes in Sydney. After a disappointing trip to the fish market the previous day, I was craving some good seafood and I read how the chef was nominated as one of the 10 best chefs of Australia. The Sea Urchin crumpet was a fantastic dish, the Sea Urchin itself was fresh and the crumpet went amazingly well with that briny ocean taste, I ate it all by myself and would easily have eaten another one. The diced albacore with condiments is served tartare style and was also a hit: the flavors were nicely balanced, I loved how the condiments accentuated instead of overpowered the greatness of the albacore. Overall, one of the better brunches I had this year and by far the best place I ate at during my three months stay in Australia! read more

Saint Peter - Uni crumpet - Seafood Near Me

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Just arrived to Sydney and this place came highly recommended. Not much on the menu for vegans beyond chips and salad, but we were really here for my husband who was ready for some great seafood. Unfortunately he was disappointed. He was expecting the fish to be deboned and thus had to perform the act himself--rather poorly I'm afraid as he ended up with a mouthful of bones a couple of times. He said his salad was over dressed and the vegetables were too salty. We came at the end of lunch service and the place was very busy so perhaps the chef and kitchen staff were overwhelmed and tired? Not all was lost. My simple meal of chips and salad were satisfying. read more

Hmmm unfortunately was really disappointed with the food here. Fish was undercooked....the skin was burnt...charcoal taste plus they forgot one of our dishes....service was great though. read more

Saint Peter - Seafood Near Me

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Food quality: 4/5 Complexity in flavors: 2/5 Techniques: 2/5 Value: 2/5 Cleanness: 4/5 Overall price for value: 2/5 Saint Peter was a cute restaurant, long and narrow rectangular layout with kitchen in the back. The restaurant itself looks clean and organized but the comfort level was low due to being too crowded. I'm an average sized person felt very crammed between my neighbors. It was a pretty expensive bill, did I mention how much they charged you for 1 slice of bread with butter? Like $3. The fish was fresh, but the flavor profiles and technicality was very average (involves in cutting the fish in half and grilling it). I was not very impressed by what we had, something was lacking. While my overall experience was not horrible, I would not go back again. I think I went in with high expectations, so I was more disappointed. Maybe had I gone with no expectations, I'd come out happier. Though I still think it was over priced for what they serve. read more

This place is pretty special. Not only is it sensational food and service (Hi Wimmy!) but its very cool knowing that you are experiencing something so different and new. No one has ever treated seafood like Josh Nyland. Sustainable both in getting it and sustainable in its treatment. No water. No abrasive scaling. Aging fish to distil and concentrate flavour. How lucky are we that he not only opened and cooks at Saint Peter but that we can buy seafood either from his Butchery a few doors up from the Restaurant or at Carriageworks. Guy was definitely born without the snob gene. My daughter bought some fish from him at Carriageworks. Then she texted Leonardo da Nyland to ask how she ought to cook it. Back came a detailed text with step by step procedures for the exact fish she bought, I think it was Dusky Flathead and she made a reduced sauce as directed by Michaelangelo Nyland, who explained that the bones are gelatinous and great for sauce. Who does that! Ive been buying prawns and John Dory and Wild Barra from his Butchery for a while now. I have a Saint Peter fish weight. After trying to cook fish for 30 years I now know all I need is fish from the Butchery, butter and a fish weight. Any idiot can cook a beautiful piece of Dory and look like a genius. Last night we went to Saint Peter and had the best seafood I've ever eaten. There were six of us and there wasn't much we didn't have. Pippis, sardines, oysters, tuna carpaccio, mullet, Spanish mackerel, and broadbill (which I thought was a bird - must have confused spoonbill). And two deserts. Best seafood in the world. How lucky are we!! read more

pricey. small portions. but delicious. We got: 1. oysters - they were great 2. uni - very fresh (couldve gotten the same at the fish market for way less) 3. raw diced albacore w/ egg yolk - thoroughly enjoyed it 4. spanner crab - so sweet; a little surprised at how little you get 5. ulladulla blue mackerel - this was on suggestion and the flavors all complimented each other. surprisingly delicious 6. sebago potato scallop - loved it even though it was so simple Because it was so pricey we got dessert elsewhere. but since it was our honeymoon we do not regret going here. definintly recommend going here if it is a special occasion. make sure you get here on time because they only have dinner sets at 6:30 or 8:30 read more

The best seafood in Sydney! Head Chef Josh is a magician with all varieties of seafood. The menu changes daily based on the catch of the day, but be prepared to be dazzled. The restaurant is small and they are booked full every night and you'll need to advance book at least 2 weeks or more on the weekends and Tuesdays nights. read more