The Fitzroy and Collingwood pubs and restaurants Rick Stein is loving

Classic pub roasts, a table covered in Greek favourites and a crawl along a Fitzroy eat street: Rick Stein, the British chef who’s a household name in Australia through his cookbooks and TV shows, is eating his way around Melbourne. It’s all in the name of research for his new SBS program Rick Stein’s Australia, a six-part travel show that premieres on Thursday.

Stein has three restaurants in Australia (all in NSW), and has been visiting our country since he was 19.

While he’s already shared a list of his favourite NSW food discoveries on his Instagram account – from burgers with the lot to lunch at Three Blue Ducks in Byron Bay – he’s guarded his Melbourne adventures more closely. (The exception being a shoutout to Collingwood’s long-standing, loud and loose Jim’s Greek Tavern.)

“I’m not able to discuss anywhere we visited while filming,” he responded via a spokeswoman when Good Food asked where he’d been eating.

Those spots will be revealed over the coming weeks, with Rick Stein’s Australia airing weekly. In the meantime, the 79-year-old chef shared some of his top bites enjoyed while off-duty in Fitzroy, Collingwood and the Melbourne CBD.

The Albion, Collingwood

The old Punters Palace on Smith Street was reborn more than two years ago, returning to its former name The Albion Hotel with a retro pub fit-out to boot. It hit the mark for Stein, who was staying nearby. He says he tried the beef and pork sausage rolls, and crumbed fish cakes served with a curry aioli. Peter Walsh, co-owner of the Albion, says that Stein initially ordered one fish cake but liked it so much he added another. “He was super friendly. It’s not often you get a superstar like that coming in.”

Jim’s Greek Tavern, Collingwood

Chaotic in the way the best family shindigs are, Jim’s Greek Tavern is beloved for its no-nonsense approach to both cooking and service. “Very gruff” is how Rick’s wife Sarah Stein described the latter, after asking for a menu and being told Jim’s hasn’t had a menu for 40 years.

“I like restaurants [on] Trip Advisor moaned about and loved equally,” Stein posted on his Instagram account, along with a video of him filleting a whole flounder at his table in the whitewashed brick dining room. “You know they’ll all probably be quite special.” That’s certainly how fans feel about this Collingwood institution.

The Gertrude Hotel, Fitzroy

Out of Fitzroy’s many pubs, the Stein entourage picked The Gertrude Hotel for Sunday lunch, sitting outside in the plant-fringed parklet dining area. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the chef’s British heritage, he opted for the Sunday roast, which was pork “with all the trimmings” including Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, peas with pancetta and gravy. For $38, Stein was impressed with the serving size, according to co-owner Iza Dawkins.

Dawkins had no idea the celebrity chef would be coming in, but was glad they’d introduced their Sunday roast a couple of days earlier. “Everyone [in our team] that spotted Rick got a little pep in their step,” he says.

The Builders Arms Hotel, Fitzroy

That wasn’t the end of the pub crawl, though. “We also really enjoyed the Builders Arms Hotel in Fitzroy,” Stein says. The sole pub within Andrew McConnell’s hospitality empire enjoys a reputation beyond the suburb for its top-tier wine list and polished pub fare. For Stein and co, it was Sydney rock oysters, pork and pistachio terrine, and a twice-cooked cheese souffle that got their vote.

And in Melbourne’s CBD … Flower Drum

The current Restaurant of the Year in The Age Good Food Guide is also an “old favourite” of Stein and wife Sarah, who managed to snag a table at the always-popular two-hatted restaurant during their visit. It was their second visit this year. On the latest stop, they ordered plenty of seafood, including lightly battered Patagonian toothfish with spring onion and ginger, and steamed mud crab claw. “I just think Chinese seafood is the best, so light and intelligently thought through,” Stein wrote on Instagram in January. Of Flower Drum’s many signatures, they chose Peking duck and pearl meat sauteed with garlic chives.