Former Chiswick chef swaps fine-dining for fancy pub classics at this inner west favourite

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On a warm Saturday in Erskineville, The Erko Hotel is an advertisement for all of humanity getting along.

Inside and out at this classic inner west corner pub, tables heave with families, couples and groups, pet dogs lap at water bowls, people shoot pool or stand around conversing with immense cheer.

Between Chesterfield couches, dark mint walls, glowing art deco lights and bronze wood panelling, what feels like the whole tiny suburb has come to congregate for a cold one, a chat and the opportunity to eat a revamped food menu.

Since October, head chef Ethan Robinson, formerly of Chiswick Woollahra, has been leading the kitchen, bringing in new sustainable food ideas and uplifted pub dishes.

Originally from Canada, with experience at classic French restaurant La Chaumiere and in Beijing as the Canadian Embassy chef, he has joined a city-wide trend to raise the quality of pub food, while retaining classics.

Starters, which include new season asparagus, fried chicken sliders, broad bean hummus and a good house bread, also feature a winning raw kingfish and the sort of crispy squid that matches a cold one perfectly.

The kingfish, folded like tiny handkerchiefs with a dressing made from charred whole citrus and dill oil, and topped with pickled cucumber, is delicate and fresh. The fried calamari, dark golden strips of crackling seafood, are swooshed easily through green harissa.

Robinson, who recommends the kingfish for a hot spring day, is a raw fish devotee.

“There is always going to be one dish on the menu that reflects this,” he says. “And the crispy squid, it’s definitely a pub classic but I wanted to do something different with the sauce. The green harissa is spicy, herbal, and a bit funky. My secret ingredient here is a bit of fish sauce. We also use potato starch to fry the squid so it is a gluten-free option.”

The main dish that stirs the most interest, raising eyebrows at every table it passes, is the Florentine risotto. Resembling a round green meadow centred with a quivering orb of sunshine yellow, it is flavoured with a puree of spinach, basil, parsley and tarragon, made with butter, parmesan and creme fraiche and topped with a raw egg yolk.

It’s lovely to scoop up, rich and buttery, but lighter than expected. The herbs, grown in the community gardens next-door to the Erko, make it fragrant and popping the yolk and stirring it through feels luxurious. “We wanted to create a dish that was really bright green and full of flavour for springtime,” Robinson says.

Equally excellent is the grass-fed NSW striploin, served with chimichurri butter or gravy, with twice-cooked chips and spears of radiantly fresh cos. A simple dish with good quality meat and the sort of fat, wide and golden chips you dedicate your whole attention to for a halcyonic period.

“We also offer a market fish dish but I’m also trying to get away from the big three, salmon, barramundi and tuna, as it’s not sustainable to keep only using these three fish,” Robinson says. “I’m trying to raise awareness about other less common fish that may come to take the pressure off any one species.”

The dessert menu features a gluten-free chocolate hazelnut cake with marinated orange and whipped mascarpone, and a soft and chewy pavlova with poached pears, raspberries, almonds, raspberries and beautifully strong lemon curd. The pears will soon be swapped for mangos as their season starts ripening.

The Erko’s dog menu continues, with homemade dog biscuits, raw beef tartare and a banana and peanut muesli bar and it’s always worth perusing the pub’s back wall polaroid gallery of visiting dogs.

Robinson, who regularly pops out of the kitchen to chat with patrons, says he’s worked hard to satisfy the Erko’s different crowds.

“Family dinners, local worker’s lunches, champagne and oysters in our backyard on a Saturday afternoon,” he says. “I love the local community in Erskineville. Everyone has been really welcoming so far and I’ve been inspired by the upbeat attitude that is palpable in this venue.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to the head chef as Nathan Robinson. It’s been updated to say Ethan Robinson.