Fancy fish goes fancier still in a landmark eastern suburbs pub.
In a nod to the site’s pub history, you can still grab that most refreshing of classic New South Wales of beers on tap, Reschs, next to more contemporary suds from smaller brewers, like a pale from Mountain Culture, a muscular IPA from Canberra legends Bentspoke and, fittingly, an oyster stout from Gippsland brewers Sailor’s Grave. This being Saint Peter, the “oyster” part of the name isn’t fanciful: there’s oysters in the beer. If that commitment to theme floats your boat (ahem), you’ll be pleased to see the maritime theme threads its way through Sam Cocks’ superb list of cocktails, too. This includes the classics – an Oyster Shell Martini with long-spine sea urchin, and “oyster shell acid” in with the Archie Rose gin and dry vermouth – to the Saint Peter signatures, like the Rhubarb and Kombu, which is powered by the Peruvian grape spirit pisco and flavoured with rhubarb and kombu (the kelp beloved by Japanese cooks), plus magnolia, lemongrass and karkalla, a succulent beach plant. There’s a lot that’s briny, tangy and refreshing here – a perfect lead into the bar menu – but if you want something a little more straightforward, sommelier Houston Barakat’s wine choices are genuinely outstanding. There’s a showstopping list of Champagnes and other seafood-friendly wines (riesling, semillon, sauv blanc, chardonnay), but also pleasing excursions to Austria, sake, orange wines and chilled reds.
There’s a lot to like here. Shout out to “Other Light-to-Medium (and Slightly Obscure) Varietals (or Other Reds Built for Fish)” as the most pleasingly wordy chapter heading we’ve seen on a wine list lately. (With “Cabernets & Their Friends, or Wine Built for Dry-Aged & Pepper-Crusted Tuna” running a close second.)
