Fitzroy Dining Room Woolloomooloo

Fitzroy Dining Room Woolloomooloo — British-French bistro cooking upstairs at The Old Fitz

Upstairs at The Old Fitz, one of Sydney's most cherished theatre pubs, the dining room is getting a fresh start. From Thursday 15 October, Fitzroy Dining Room takes over from Bistro Fitz with a refreshed look that holds on to the room's old-world charm, a dedicated kitchen of its own and a new British-French menu from head chef Ben Richards. It's a homecoming for Ben, who cooked here as chef de partie in 2019 under Nik Hill, now of Porcine fame, after a formative year at Ester. He has since cooked at Newtown's Ante and Cafe Paci and Marrickville's Where's Nick.

Ben's brief is good, honest cooking that takes the old English pub up a notch: familiar enough to keep Fitz regulars happy, but seasonal and always moving. The opening menu brings zucchini flowers stuffed with sweet prawn and tarragon alongside a classic salsa rosa, bluefin tuna with seasonal citrus, basil and Aleppo pepper, and beef carpaccio with kohlrabi rémoulade, freshly grated horseradish and rocket. He's also reviving a few favourites from his first stint, including a country pork terrine with pear mostarda, frisée and sharp English mustard.

The upstairs rituals stay put. There's still a banquet menu for groups, bottomless lunches on weekends and a pre-theatre menu for anyone catching a show at the Old Fitz Theatre. The Spring Sunday Roast also carries on under Ben every weekend, with live jazz in the pub from 2pm to round out the afternoon.