Restaurant News

After nearly six years, acclaimed Sydney restaurant Saint Peter is closing and moving to a new location

And its owners, Josh and Julie Niland, are getting into the hotel game.

By Callum McDermott
Josh and Julie Niland.
It's rare for an Australian restaurant opening to cause a shift in the global culinary conversation, but that's what happened when Josh Niland and his wife Julie opened Saint Peter, in Sydney's Paddington, in 2016. The seafood eatery, which pioneered Niland's "scale-to-tail" approach of cooking with almost every part of the fish, grows in international (and local) esteem each year. It's one of Australia's finest restaurants, and it's become an important participant in the global seafood and fishery sustainability conversation. That's not to mention the rapid expansion of casual sibling businesses Fish Butchery and Charcoal Fish.
The Niland train just won't stop. And at the start of next year, Saint Peter will enter its next chapter. The Nilands have taken over The Grand National Hotel, a former pub that's been renovated into a 14-room boutique hotel. Saint Peter is leaving its Oxford Street premises, and moving into the hotel. It's upping the capacity to 45 seats, and it will have a separate bar with its own distinct – and more casual – menu. Private dining for up to 15 will be available, too.
"362 Oxford Street has been our home for six years and we have achieved a lot as a team within those four walls," said Niland in a release. "However, the opportunity to create a more expansive and accessible dining experience for our guests and creative opportunity for our team is incredibly exciting."
Guests booking into the restaurant will have the option to book an overnight stay at the hotel, or just to make a reservation for the restaurant. Hypothetically, you could also stay at the Grand National Hotel without eating at Saint Peter, but who would be crazy enough to do that?
Saint Peter Oxford Street will close in early 2023.
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