This week’s restaurant comes courtesy of the former chef at Fish Face in Double Bay – the place mythologised for its prawn ravioli and blue-eye yellow curry.

Josh Niland, who is 27 but looks younger, has teamed with his pastry chef wife Julie, to open Saint Peter, his very own Paddington fish outpost. Trading began a month ago and it has been filled to the gills ever since.

The Saint Peter ethos is much the same as Fish Face – nicely executed, quality seafood, with an emphasis on fish, at a relatively low cost. I say relatively, because being in Paddington, prices will never be truly low.

The restaurant, a 34-seater with exposed bricks, is decked out in the industrial look that is so popular at the moment. It’s an unlikely setting to be imbibing Clair de Lune oysters, say, or Clarence River school prawns. That said, there are some dishes here good enough to make you forget your surroundings.

The menu changes daily, but on our visit the best dish was a big, meaty fillet of West Australian hapuka served with fresh yoghurt and celeriac roasted in paperbark. The fish, crisp-skinned and sprinkled in salt, was perfectly cooked, and the plating clean and uncluttered.

So too the red mullet from Shark Bay, which came poached and served with two types of steamed artichoke and, again, a dollop of fresh yoghurt. Giant battered onion rings doused in salt and vinegar are served as a side, but almost qualify as a signature since there’s a bowl on every table. Less spectacular was the fish and chips, in this case pink ling encased in a thick, overcooked batter with chips that also seemed to spend too long in the deep fryer.

A starter of shellfish soup, made with Ballina crab meat, was topped with a slick of oil that overpowered the bisque. The wine list, though brief and pricey, brims with whites to suit every dish. Saint Peter has some major pluses but at this point it’s a work in progress.

If you like this try…

Central: Flying Fish

Harbour views, maritime interiors, and Asian-style seafood, like whole golden trout with ginger chilli sauce, have earned this Pyrmont restaurant a devoted following.

North: Garfish

Enjoy your fish grilled or wood-roasted at this northern beaches stalwart with additional locations in Crows Nest and Kirribilli.

Central: Manta

This Woolloomooloo Wharf eatery has a menu that focuses on seasonal, sustainable and local seafood.