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Restaurateurs Josh and Julie Niland finally hit Sydney's northside this week, with the opening of Petermen restaurant. And while there are echoes of their other venues, Petermen isn't Saint Peter in St Leonards.

The chef duo behind Fish Butchery and hatted Paddington fine diner Saint Peter have tailored their latest seafood venture to its lower north shore catchment. That includes its menu scope and dedicated kids' dishes.

"We're in an area with lots of young families," says Josh Niland. The culinary couple has plenty of local intel, as residents of the north shore.

Petermen – an archaic English name for fishermen – won't push his fisheye ice-cream on customers in week one. "We don't want to be too confrontational on the plate."

That's not to say head chef Joshua Osborne's menu isn't interesting. How does yellowfin tuna "chateaubriand" grab you? What about garfish in olive brine or pipis with garlic and chilli?

Niland hopes Sunday brunch will become a cornerstone of the Petermen experience, with spanner crab croissants and sea urchin crumpets and marron with scrambled eggs sitting alongside smoked eel hash browns.

Julie Niland's experience as a pastry chef at some of Sydney's top restaurants will also get more air time at Petermen. "We only have one or two desserts at Saint Peter. There'll be five at Petermen, including a native apple tart and Julie's chocolate, rum and raisin cake. We also have an ice-cream machine here," says Josh Niland.

Julie's side passion for design has also been given room to grow at Petermen, where she has steered the interior with a little help from some original works by Sydney artist Ken Done. And what looks like space for dry-aging fish is actually an inherited wine room the developer had built before the couple nabbed the space.

Conscious of being an accessible local restaurant, Petermen has left the door ajar for spontaneous customers. "There are 10 seats at the bar we don't book," Niland says. Grabbing one might be the catch of the day.

Open brunch Sun; lunch Sat; dinner Mon and Wed-Sat.

66 Chandos Street, St Leonards, petermen.com.au