Flying Fish shoots for The Star

Flying Fish will serve its last mud crab on New Year's Eve at Jones Bay Wharf, the Sydney waterfront restaurant closing its doors at the end of the 2018. Fans of the luxe seafood restaurant can relax, however, with Flying Fish set to be rebirthed in the old Balla site at The Star.

Flying Fish owner Con Dedes confirmed a deal has been inked in recent days after months of negotiations. "Yes, we're collaborating with The Star on a new restaurant, I've been calling it Flying Fish 2.0," he says. "The restaurant has grown up and I'm pushing it out of home." He wants to take the rebooted gastro temple to a "different level", recruiting ex-Rockpooler Peter Robinson as head chef. "He has an amazing resume and has worked at all sorts of places, including The Fat Duck," Dedes says. Where the Jones Bay restaurant dazzled Sydneysiders when it opened in 2004 with a luxe design by Michael McCann, the interior at the new Flying Fish will be crafted by designer Paul Kelly.

Dedes will also open Little Fish, a quicker "caviar and fish finger sandwich" venture, at The Star. While Dedes won't say where it will be located, there's a vacant site opposite the Lyric Theatre where Adriano Zumbo recently shut. With the new Flying Fish possibly opening before Christmas, the restaurateur might have a few confusing weeks of operating two restaurants with the same name, but come the New Year there'll be an announcement on a new concept headed into the Jones Bay Wharf site.