A quiet revolution is taking place at Sydney’s inner west pub institution the 3 Weeds, under the highly capable hands of chef and restaurateur Darrell Felstead (formerly of GPO, Foveaux and Red Door Cocktail Bar).

British-born Felstead has returned to the Rozelle pub 13 years after he secured its first One Hat status. Together with owners owners Ferrie and Ollie Oosterhoff, he’ll oversee a total refurbishment of the venue early next year.

Kicking off the planned changes, interior design agency Loopcreative has transformed what was formerly the 3 Weed’s fine-dining restaurant into a casual space known as the Garden Room

“It’s meant to look like a space that’s in the making, so we’ve introduced raw concrete flooring, exposed walls, drop-sheets on the ceiling as well as some builder’s lights,” says Loopcreative’s Rod Faucheux. Floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to the pub’s herb garden flood the space with light, with the bright, airy feel accentuated by the blond-wood tables and benches, and splashes of greenery.

Says Felstead: “Giving the restaurant a face-lift and converting it into a casual dining space has allowed us to add 100 seats to the pub. It has also given us the freedom to carry a single, new menu, throughout the hotel.”

Felstead has taken his inspiration for the new menu from Australia’s cultural melting pot. What that means is dishes such as sticky teriyaki chicken wings with toasted rice, coriander; potato and manchego croquettes with smoked chilli sauce; spring lamb, porter and pea pie; and corn quesadilla with goats cheese, spinach, olive, avocado, coriander and spring onion salsa.

There’s also a big focus on share dishes, including whole lamb shoulder with tzatziki, hummus, mint and pea tendril salad; and a 600g Chateaubriand with beef fat potatoes, watercress and miso hollandaise.

Desserts range from the classic to pure comfort food, and include bread and butter pudding with orange ice cream, chocolate tiramisu with ginger biscuit and coffee, and a decadent banoffee pie – “The first dessert I was allowed to make at the pub I worked in when I was 12 years old,” says Felstead.

“I’d like to think a lot of the dishes will resonate with our diners on some level,” the chef adds. “Eating at a pub is all about knowing you’re going to get a great meal that’s good value, and this menu delivers that.”