Semi-Permanent at 92 Smith Pop-Up

Overview

When Chinese restaurant Lee Ho Fook made the move from Collingwood to the CBD last month, there was suddenly a vacancy at their original location on Smith Street. Next year the old owners will reopen the site as Goldfish, a new casual dining endeavour overseen by head chef Victor Liong. Until then, the space has been handed to a pair of award-winning sommeliers, who have transformed it into an impressive looking pop-up wine bar. Hey, it sure beats an empty storefront.

Fittingly christened Semi-Permanent at 92 Smith (no relation to the design conference), the temporary venture begun trading yesterday and is expected to occupy the site until Christmas Eve. Running the show are Liz Carey and Paul Guiney, previously of MoVida and The Town Mouse, respectively. Customers can expect a large, rotating wine list, with Carey telling Gourmet Traveller the selection would be "constantly changing, international, accessible ... wine from people who make really good booze, and wine that likes food." They'll also be serving sake, because why not?

Food will be handled by chef Tanya Bertino, who Carey and Guiney recruited from the Gem in nearby Wellington Street. The focus will be on simple, rustic food that compliments the wine, such as terrines, rillettes, cheeses and sliced meats. They'll also welcome a number of guest chefs for special pop-up dinners, including O Tama Carey in October and Christine Manfield in December.

Once they shut up shop to make way for Goldfish, Carey and Guiney hope to find a permanent home for the wine-bar — although presumably at that point they'll have to change the name.

For trading hours visit their website. Via Gourmet Traveller and Good Food.