“I grew up eating Birds Eye fish finger sandwiches, butter, tomato ketchup on standard white bread, so a fish finger sandwich brings back fond childhood memories.” Pip Pratt Executive Chef for Liquid & Larder hospitality group, aka some of your favourite Sydney restaurants – Bistecca, The Gidley and the newly polished The Rover tells En-Route.

 The curried fish finger roll with a side of spicy papadum is just one of the new dishes on The Rover’s New England-inspired and seafood-driven menu. A menu that takes inspiration from the Indian influences and spices of his childhood growing up in the United Kingdom. Just as the interior has been elevated, the menu has too. “We wanted to take a fresh approach to this classic and add some sophistication to it. The Indian curry spices and yoghurt pickle mimic late night dinners with a group of friends down at the local curry house that is almost an English tradition after an evening at the pub” Pratt on the curried fish finger roll. 

Along with oysters, you’ll still find the comforting sausage roll on the menu. “The lamb sausage roll is also another fave that has been kept but upgraded as it now comes with a new smoked beetroot ketchup – very simple but glorious to eat with beer.”

As for new crowd favourites, Pratt tells En-Route, “The deep-fried oysters with mussel tartar sauce have been a solid winner at The Rover to date, crunchy, salty, creamy with a big umami hit of the cooked oyster, closely followed by the octopus”.

If you’re anything like me, the octopus is a go-to dish I order whenever dining out, however, it’s way too daunting and overly excessive to make at home. I recently found out that it isn’t as intimidating as it seems. Once you get past the fact that an octopus in fact has a beak and all those legs it’s quite easy to prepare at home. 

With the help of Pratt’s tips follow his octopus with salsa verde recipe and impress your guest’s next dinner party.