PUTTIN’ ON THE FITZ
It’s pub grub but not as you know it. Chef NIK HILL brings fine-dining finesse to English pub classics at Sydney’s Old Fitzroy Hotel.
Chef Nik Hill brings fine-dining finesse to pub classics at The Old Fitzroy Hotel in Sydney.
The key to mastering a classic, says chef Nik Hill, is simple. You just need to follow the rules. “A Scotch egg is simple but if you don’t follow the exact technique it doesn’t work. It’s as much work to make a Scotch egg as it is to do the latest tweezer dish. You need to have the same care and focus to get it right.” The chef, who took over the tiny kitchen at The Old Fitzroy Hotel in February 2019, has done his fair share of tweezer dishes, having previously worked at Sydney fine-diners Sepia and Quay.
But it was his time in London that sparked his passion for pub fare and eventually led him to the iconic Wolloomooloo pub. While working at The Ledbury, he spent a year living above the restaurant’s sister pub, The Harwood Arms – the only pub in London with a Michelin star.
“We used to eat there two or three times a week and every Sunday lunch. It was like a home for me, I ate there a lot.”
When pub owner Jaime Wirth first approached Hill about taking over the kitchen at The Fitz, Hill wasn’t sold. Until Wirth mentioned the hotel was “like an old English pub”. Hill was intrigued and quickly set to work devising a menu of classic pub fare, the likes of which has rarely been seen in Australia.
There’s not a parmi in sight on Hill’s menu, which champions nose-to-tail cooking through a revolving assortment of pies, terrines, roasts and of course, his signature Scotch egg.
But what really sets The Old Fitz apart is the execution of each dish. Supported by a small team of fellow fine-dining chefs (Abigail Amen worked at Quay and Sepia, while Joaquin Gadea is former LuMi and Ester alum), Hill elevates every dish through his precise presentation and commitment to quality produce.
“It’s halfway between classic French bistro and English pub food,” explains Hill. “It takes all the cues from fine dining because, really, we’re restaurant chefs coming in to do a pub.”
But while Hill’s menu has been quick to capture the hearts and stomachs of Sydney’s fooderati, the chef insists he’s really not doing anything new.
“The only cookbooks we look at here are things like the Women’s Weekly book from 1985. We’re not doing anything that hasn’t been done before. I’m sure someone has stuck a cauliflower in a quiche before. We look back for inspiration and then try to tweak each dish with the knowledge that we have now.”
The Old Fitzroy Hotel, 129 Dowling St, Woolloomooloo, NSW,
(02) 9356 3848, oldfitzroy.com.au