Old Fitz's sausage tart - culinary crime or act of genius?

When a photo of the Old Fitz's Cumberland sausage tarte tatin landed in Good Food's inbox we thought English chef Nicholas Hill should be deported for culinary crimes.

But the stream of restaurateurs flooding the Woolloomooloo pub are declaring it an act of genius.

Having already introduced Sydney to reimagined British pub fare, including raw beef on drippings toast, a deconstructed hot chip butty and pork pie tart, it's getting more and more difficult to get a seat at the Fitz.

"It [the sausage tart] was a bit of a laugh at first, a bit of a piss-take," Hill says. "We were toying with bangers and mash, there were some sausages left over from our Thursday meat raffle so we put some onion, HP sauce and bacon on the pastry under the sausage."

It might have Escoffier turning in his grave, but Hill has the pedigree to back it up. With Quay and Sepia on his local CV, he also worked for six years at the Michelin-starred Ledbury in London and its owners' pub venture.

"Due to my budget, I ate in pubs all the time," he says.

A fan of HP Sauce, he refuses to put tomato sauce on the tables at The Fitz.

"If they want it they have to come over and and go through the embarrassment of asking for it," he says with a cheeky laugh.

The Fitz has reinvented itself since it came under publican Jaime Wirth's watch last year.

What's next with the menu? "I'm working on a black pudding toad in the hole for winter."