St Kilda’s charming Prince Dining Room is crowned with a hat

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Golden hour in St Kilda is one of Melbourne’s most magical sights and, right now, I’m not sure there’s anywhere better from which to experience the ethereal light, warm autumn breeze and the neighbourhood’s famous art deco architecture than the new Prince Dining Room, on the upper floor of the Prince Hotel.

With a hint of ocean in the distance, sunshine filtering through the trees outside and its gorgeous dining room – all curved, champagne-coloured booths and large, black-and-white photos documenting St Kilda’s rock’n’roll history – the effect is luminous, dreamlike.

The Prince Dining Room is a rebirth of sorts, a reimagining of Circa, which closed in this space in 2017 after decades as one of Melbourne’s most lauded fine-diners. This is the second iteration of the Prince Dining Room – in 2018, it opened as a more casual Mediterranean spot under chef Daniel Cooper. But now the Ryan family, which took over the Prince Hotel in 2017, has opted to lean into the space’s fine-dining history.

Cooper is still running the kitchen (his relationship with The Prince goes back to 2012 and he was sous chef at Circa for four years), while beverage manager Paul Beresford oversees the cocktail bar that fronts the space and sommelier Laurent Rospars takes care of the extremely fun wine list that boasts, among other things, a wide selection of Australian rieslings.

The theme is still vaguely Mediterranean, but I get the sense that a more refined style of cooking suits Cooper. It certainly suits the space, which feels occasion-worthy, as if the history of the room can’t be ignored.

And so settle in and order a decent bottle of wine (the excellent servers are very well-versed) and, perhaps, a little yellowfin tuna tartlet ($12) to start, the cubes of fish sitting on a bed of whipped goat’s curd with fresh peas, lemon and a whisper of horseradish.

A broad-bean dip ($14), dusted in za’atar, comes with impossibly thin and crisp house-made lavash and is a smashing snack to pair with one of Beresford’s refreshing and balanced cocktails. There are oysters with lemon and shallots ($7 each) to be slurped, and wood-oven-roasted pumpkin bread ($5) to eat. Do it all: this is a place where you’ll want to take your time.

In a world of kingfish crudo, I was particularly smitten with Cooper’s sea bream tartare ($31), which popped with freshness and had a delicate, almost floral quality, bolstered by tiny Parisian balled apple cucumber, finger lime, purslane leaf and fig-leaf oil.

Mains are mostly sturdy classics with just enough creativity to make them special, but it’s the technique and attention to detail that truly impresses.

The market fish ($55 for blue-eye the night I had it) comes with fennel and ’nduja butter, along with clams that had been cooked so delicately they were actually tender, tasting of the ocean – everything a clam should be but never is. (When was the last time you had a tender clam? Me, neither.)

Tasmanian lamb saddle ($50) was cooked to a perfect pink and served with smoky eggplant and zucchini.

For dessert, I found the dark chocolate mousse ($19) a tad stiff, not quite creamy enough, but the tart of the day ($16) – a classic lemon number – was fantastic, tangy and indulgent and served with soft cream.

It’s a difficult trick: to reinvent something as well-known and beloved as Circa was and have it feel fresh but also respectful of the history contained in these walls. Perhaps it’s my lack of history here – I never dined at Circa, so have no nostalgia for what it once was – but I think that’s exactly what Cooper and the Ryan family have achieved this time around.

It’s also not very busy, but I expect that to change. The new Prince Dining Room is a restaurant that feels right for the neighbourhood as it is now, while quietly nodding to all the things it’s been in the past.

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine