Seafood platters and premium wines to hit St Kilda's Stokehouse and Prince

St Kilda is getting a shake up in March as Stokehouse's new chef Jason Staudt launches his first menu and the Prince Hotel moves to its next phase opening a wine bar.

Staudt, formerly at Bea in Sydney, was landed by Stokehouse last November but given the venue's institutional status he's moved slowly so as not to scare the horses.

His first menu, launched last week, retains the smart-casual seafood ethos of Stokehouse, but adds more shared dishes and heroes daily specials. Right now, with lobsters landlocked unable to get to China, you get it steamed and grilled with chilli-lime butter.

Also noteworthy is Staudt's new seafood platter. At $45 a head it features the likes of dressed crab, scarlet prawns and hand-dived scallops, and flexes for any party size, including one.

That will make for a big night out if combined with a forage in the underground cellar of Little Prince Wine when it opens in late March. The 60-seat boutique bar and bottle shop will finalise the Prince Hotel's multi-year overhaul.

Headed up by sommelier Laurent Rospars, there will be a focus on premium pinot noir and burgundies, and will offer snacks such as olives, charcuterie and sardines on toast, plus take home meals from the bottle shop. Dinner proper can be had in the adjoining Prince Public Bar or the more formal Prince Dining Room upstairs.

stokehouse.com.au; theprince.com.au