Scott Pickett to open second Estelle restaurant in Northcote

Almost four years after opening Estelle in Northcote, Scott Pickett is on the move – next door.

He's expanding into the adjoining bookshop, which will become fine diner Estelle by Scott Pickett (ESP), with seating for 50, including 20 seats surrounding a sunken open kitchen that brings chefs to diners' eye level, and an eight-course tasting menu that expands on the nuanced work, which has earnt him a hat for the past three years.

Estelle, renamed Estelle Bistro, will return to its original concept, "a really good local bistro", with oysters, charcuterie and a two- or three-course a la carte seasonal menu, alongside a five-course tasting menu. "It will be more of a place where you can drop in and sit at the bar and have a couple of simple courses – although for me, simple dishes are still quite intricate."

Josh Pelham, joint winner of the Young Chef of the Year title in the latest Age Good Food Guide, will head the ESP kitchen and current sous chef Aaron Brodie (ex Cumulus Inc and London's L'Autre Pied) will take charge of Estelle Bistro, with Pickett overseeing both kitchens. A secret door will connect the two kitchens.

Pickett, who also co-owns two-hatted Saint Crispin in Collingwood, was on the verge of signing a lease in the CBD before deciding to stay northside.

"I really wanted a new kitchen. This is where this all came from," he says. "But I just don't need to sign a $300,000-a-year rent and have that hanging over my head for 10 years. You've got to sell a lot of meat just to pay that."

Still, the project won't come cheap. Pickett estimates he'll spend more than $1 million on the two restaurants. The moody charcoal grey Estelle by Scott Pickett fitout will be overseen by Ilija Karlusic, of international hospitality design group Hirsch Bedner Associates, and involves Philippe Starck Caprice and Passion chairs, custom-made timber tables, a polished concrete bar, handmade crockery and Laguiole knives with black horn handles.

Estelle will undergo some cosmetic changes, including a copper-edged bar, dark timber tables and exposed brick walls.

While the work is underway, Pickett will run a two-week pop-up at the Australian Open in January, giving diners a preview of the two new restaurants. Week one will showcase Estelle Bistro, with Estelle by Scott Pickett the following week.

Estelle, 243 High Street, Northcote, will close on January 4 and is expected to reopen as Estelle Bistro in the first week of February. If all goes to plan, Estelle by Scott Pickett, at 245 High Street, will open in March, with stage two, a private dining room and bar upstairs, to follow by October 2015.

Scott Pickett's new cookbook, Scott Pickett: A Cook's Story (EBK, $49.95), will be out next month.