Fitzroy Street appears to be en mode again and none the more so with Fitzrovia pulling up stumps on St Kilda’s infamous strip.

The new restaurant, or more correctly “chef’s table” as Chef Paul Jewson calls it, is an expansion on his Outpost concept, one that successfully melds kitchen and the dining experience, literally removing the door ensuring immersion in the action for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
 
On mornings, look forward to Marco Pugnaloni‘s delightful door greeting, not to miss natural light pouring in from the high façade windows, whilst papers are read amongst the hum of the coffee machine (coffee courtesy of St ALi), quirky upside-down plant pots, pastries, sumptuous muffins and fresh produce.
 
The space is the converted Federation boarding house, overlooking the park. Spread over three split levels, it combines a contemporary front, and terrace with a more Edwardian-style elevated interior.
 
And if you’re thinking another oh-so-Melbourne tapas-style, shared-plate venture, think again Jewson’s gone hearty with a daily changing menu that nods to provincial Italian and British cuisine, perhaps a little rough around the edges.  
 
The breakfast menu exceeds the standard, while lunch and dinner sees wholesome options like crisp skinned red snapper, slow roast pork belly and 400g Romsey Range grass fed rib of beef, and if there’s room, Adam’s ballistic baked cheesecake.
 
Here, it’s all about low mileage, all produce is sourced as close to home as possible, including Demeter biodynamic milk, Romsey Range beef, South Gippsland lamb, Red Hill goats cheese, and Di’s rhubarb and fresh herbs from a community allotment in Caulfield.
 
If spontaneity peppered on your food is your thing, here it’s their specialty, where Jewson’s hand-on approach means things can be customised and nothing’s to be expected.
 
Fitzrovia is fresh, fancy-free and so rightly deserves your best West End-type salutation.
 
Fitzrovia
2/155 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, VIC 3182
T: (03) 9537 0001