Rick Stein spills on Aussie diners and his new Coogee restaurant - Restaurants

Nov 03, 2025

Some celebrity chefs polarise. Others only appeal to a certain audience or age group. But everyone loves Rick Stein.

The beloved UK chef and TV star has been a permanent fixture on our east coast dining scene for more than 15 years, and visits so often, he’s basically an unofficial Aussie citizen. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. Now he’s all set to shake up our Sydney summer, bringing his special brand of simple yet spectacular seafood to the Eastern Suburbs.

Stein already has two successful NSW restaurants to his name. He opened Bannisters by the Sea in Mollymook in 2009, and followed this with another restaurant at Bannisters Port Stephens in 2018. But for the past seven years, there has been little suggestion that the chef was planning another Aussie outpost… until earlier this year, when the news suddenly dropped that Stein and his wife Sarah (‘Sas’) would be opening a new 224-seat restaurant, Rick Stein at Coogee Beach, at the new InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach.

So why now, and why here?

Rick Stein with Coogee Surf Life Saving Club — “It just seemed like a great fit.” Stein takes a dip with Coogee Surf Life Saving Club.

“The truth of it is that the two Bannisters hotels and my restaurants were taken over by [investment management group] Salter Brothers in October last year,” Stein says. “And that was a bit of a surprise. But actually starting to work with Salter Brothers, I realised how professional they were and how much I liked working with them.

“They mentioned this hotel that they just bought [then Crowne Plaza Coogee], that they were going to turn it into an InterContinental, and that there was a restaurant overlooking the beach. I don’t know whether they had an idea for me doing it, but I just sort of wandered around, and I liked it instantly. There is a specialness about having a restaurant on the sea, if a lot of what you sell is seafood. And I think Sydney is really special in that, with a lot of these beach suburbs, you don’t feel like you’re in a city. It just seemed like a great fit.”

What’s on the menu at Rick Stein at Coogee Beach?

Stein tells delicious. that the new restaurant will be “largely based on the two Bannisters restaurants here, and the seafood restaurant in Padstow”.

The best local seafood is a given, of course. “Hero dishes will be oysters, clams, scallops, prawns, lobster and, of course, crab,” he says. “And various fish that I love here, like snapper, blue-eye, whiting, flathead.”

But perhaps what’s most exciting about this new venture is that it will offer something for everyone – whether you’re after a fancy crab dinner or some perfect fish and chips after a day at the beach. There’ll be a big focus on entrees – everything from ceviche and oysters to poke bowls and prawn cocktails – as well as fresh seafood mains that take their influence from across the globe. You can also expect many of Stein’s signature dishes. Who cares if it’s summer? We’re holding out for that famous fish pie.

Chef Colin Chun will be heading up the kitchen. Chun has previously held leadership roles at Hilton Sydney, Pullman and W Taipei, and is a long-time admirer of Stein. There will also be an adjoining bar, which will offer an extensive drinks list, including coastal-inspired cocktails and a curated wine selection.

Rick and Sarah Stein — The new restaurant opens in Sarah’s hometown of Sydney.

Rick Stein on Australian diners

Having run restaurants on both sides of the globe, it’s intriguing to know how much Stein thinks Australian diners differ from their British counterparts. Are we fussier? Are we easier to please? The answer comes in the chef’s usual self-effacing manner.

“When Sas and I first opened in Mollymook, I was quite nervous about doing any of the old-fashioned, French-style cream, buttered sauces,” he says. “I was trying to think, we need to have more Asian influences. But actually it ended up, the most popular dish when we opened was a lobster raviolo with fish mousseline – one single ravioli with a cream white-wine and basil sauce. I thought, well, they’re not going to like this; this isn’t their local food. But I think it’s just a question of getting the balance. Honestly, I would say that the similarities [between Australian and UK diners] are enormous.

“There’s probably more Asian-influenced dishes on the menus here, but broadly speaking, it’s pretty much the same. But I think that’s probably the case in restaurants generally, really, because of the way we all travel now. Chefs and restaurateurs pick up ideas from all over.”

Of course, things haven’t always been this way. For a green-and-golden moment, Australia was leading the way when it came to experimenting with new and exciting cuisines. Stein reflects back to when he first started travelling, and his first visits to Australia in the mid-eighties. He recalls bringing his family to Neil Perry’s first restaurant – Blue Water Grill, in Bondi.

“It was a sort of revelation,” he says. “And I think for the next 10, maybe 15 years, Australia was where everybody wanted to go, because it was this freedom that the Aussies chefs had to use ideas from, you know, Southeast Asia, Asia and Italy, and just feel totally free about mixing; fusion.

“I think it’s all evened out a bit now, except that, of course, what I love is the fact that we’ve got great seafood here, and it’s slightly different to what we’ve got back in the UK, which I find quite stimulating.”

You can have all the Aussie seafood you like, Rick. We can’t wait to see what you do with it.

Rick Stein at Coogee Beach opens Monday December 1. Bookings are now open. ricksteinatcoogeebeach.com.au