Niland is no stranger to breaking the mould. He introduced the fine dining world to fish blood boudin noir, made monkfish liver sexy and served mirror dory eyeball crackers when he opened his first restaurant back in 2017.
He was one of the first to pivot to an online takeaway service when lockdown hit in 2020, rallying out-of-work chefs across Sydney to collaborate on menus. And now he's set to open a hybrid restaurant specifically designed to withstand lockdowns, serving fish that tastes like barbecue chicken, with the texture of pork.
With any luck and the eventual easing of construction restrictions, Charcoal Fish will open in Rose Bay in August. And that crazy-sounding fish Niland's so excited about? That's Aquna Murray cod, a sustainable fish farmed in Griffith, which will be cooked over wood-fire and served with Ottolenghi-style salads.