St Kilda’s pub scene got a serious upgrade when just over two months ago, celebrity chef Karen Martini took over the culinary offering at Saint George (formerly Saint Hotel).

Now, Sydney chef Mitch Orr is due to reopen the Prince Dining Room on Wednesday May 1 after the St Kilda spot – a storied venue where powerhouse chefs including Andrew McConnell, David Moyle and Matt Wilkinson previously worked – closed temporarily on Monday March 25.

Orr most recently opened Kiln, the rooftop restaurant at Sydney’s Ace Hotel. Kiln was named one of Broadsheet’s best new restaurants in Sydney for 2022 and Orr’s signature dish of anchovies served on Jatz crackers became an unexpected hit, making appearances on Instagram stories and becoming part of the great retro revival seen across Australian restaurants in recent years.

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Orr, an inventive chef also known for leaning heavily on flavours and techniques from Italy, Japan and Southeast Asia, worked at Sydney venues including Duke Bistro and 121 BC Cantina & Enoteca before co-founding the now-shuttered seminal Sydney diner Acme in 2019.

The menu at the reopened Prince Dining Room will be a completely new offering, overseen by Orr as food and creative director. He is joined by head chef Ben Parkinson of Pipis Kiosk.

The menu will be announced closer to opening, but the team says the famous Jatz cracker anchovy number will likely make an appearance on the bar menu.

The Prince Dining Room will reopen on Wednesday May 1.

This article was updaated on Wednesday April 24 to reflect a change in opening date.