Under Andrew McConnell, The New Stokehouse Serves Tuna Tartare Tableside And Martinis Bone-Dry

St Kilda's Stokehouse has thrown open its doors to the sea air again, with a fresh look and menu playing to seafood strengths. It's the second in Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann’s rapid refurbs of the iconic waterfront venue, less than a week after welcoming Marea downstairs.

The biggest Stokehouse shake-up in its 30 plus years has pulled the menu back to basics: Aussie seafood, fresh produce.

“The food I love to cook has always been the food I love to eat,” says McConnell. “Exceptional
produce, a leaning towards seafood, bold flavours and thoughtful combinations. The food
and produce we source should speak for themselves. No unnecessary flourishes or pomp
and ceremony. Just confident, uncomplicated cooking with an emphasis on quality.”

Expect tuna tartare served tableside, prawns in Thai nam jim dressing, nannygai with guindilla peppers and rock samphire and seasonal dishes such as Tasmanian white asparagus with picked mid crab, marcona almonds and brown butter. Longtime diners will be relieved to know some Stokehouse classics remain on the menu as an homage or best-of. For a serious steak night, that 1.1kg dry-aged grass fed rib-eye is hard to pass up—unless you're more keen on the Lobster Champeau, flambéed with pastis and cognac.

Head chef Kier Ballantyne, formerly of Fabbrica, and Trader House Group Development Chef Colin Mainds deliver the elegant simplicity you want from seaside dining, but the desserts take a retro Euro turn. Soft meringue Floating Islands with prune and Armagnac are served with vanilla bean crème anglaise poured tableside. Wild strawberries sit atop fior di latte and zabaglione. For the eye-catching volupté glacé, fruits are scooped out, turned into gelato and returned to the fruit 'shell', served on ice. 

Not here for the full steak dinner? Slide up to the walk-in only bar for a sundown cocktail and snack. Lachlan Bentley (you might know his work from Apollo Inn) puts a lighter touch to the French Martini, with a rosé vermouth. Then again, the Bone-Dry Martini—Tanqueray, a French apple-based gin and dry vermouth—is crying out for oysters or something fresh from the raw bar. 

Or have a sip from the well-balanced wine list of known and unknown, Australian and international, with a by-the-glass list ranging from local Grampians shiraz to French Champagne and a Georgian amber wine. Put on a show for special occasions with large format bottles, or book their cellar private dining room for more discreet celebrations—if you can tear yourself away from the sea views. 

“I never realised how good it would be for my soul to work by the water,” McConnell says. “For our guests, there’s really nothing more relaxing or nostalgic than dining on the beach.”

Blue waters, waving palms, miles of sky: with a vista like this, the interiors take an elegant step back. Designed by ACME, who were also responsible for Marea’s stunning refit, the Stokehouse refresh is warm and sophisticated, with crispy white tablecloths, woody and sandy tones and scattered florals. It's bright and new, but not a full facelift: Stokehouse is a Melbourne icon, after all, and McConnell and McGann want to honour that.

Stokehouse is now open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, at 30 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda.

Imagery: Parker Blain | Supplied