Overview
Rosebery's food precinct, The Cannery, has just added a Parisian offering to its ever-expanding repertoire. Frenchies Bistro and Brewery comes from craft-obsessed, French-born duo Vincent de Soyres and Thomas Cauquil (head brewer and head chef, respectively), who join a roster of heavyweight neighbours, including Saporium wholefoods market, Archie Rose Distillery, Black Star Pastry and Kingsmore artisan butcher.
Inspiration for the space came from the team's time spent trekking Eastern Siberia, of all things. "We spent two months hungry, talking about food and beer," says de Soyres. The 'French-industrial' fit-out has warm bistro lighting that complements the dark beams of the Rosebery warehouse, along with lots of personal touches — including the venue's hand-crafted wooden tables, made by de Soyres' dad at his farm in France.
The brewery, kitchen and bar sit on the ground floor, while the upstairs mezzanine houses the bistro where Cauquil will show off his world-class repertoire — he's cooked in Michelin-starred restaurants around the globe, including Paris restaurants Le Miroir and Le Violon d'Ingres, Madrid's El Chaflan and Sydney's Moxhe. "It's food that is affordable, with a lot of work behind it," says de Soyres. The menu will adapt on a daily basis, depending on the seasonal and regional produce available. "We will not be serving asparagus in winter."
Despite being local as, the bistro menu features dishes not commonly found in Sydney, much less at a brewery — think veal tongue carpaccio, Balmain bug in puff pastry and beef and bone marrow stew. But the menu doesn't only appeal to more adventurous types, either, with a North African-style confit lamb and traditional Toulouse sausage with rosemary jus also present on the menu. For takeaway and the bar downstairs, Frenchies will sell Cauquil's specialty terrines, pâtés and meat parfaits, recipes he learnt while training under world renowned charcutier Arnaud Nicholas.
The brewery side of the operation also focuses on seasonality, with the beer produced on-site and meant to pair with the menu. De Soyres flexes his international brewer's muscles with the Biere de Garde range, which he describes as "a bit like white wine, refreshing while complex and interesting". He takes a very organic approach to brewing, and finds it important to convey each beer's terroir, a sense of place ordinarily only used to refer to wines. The Frenchies core range also includes their Comet Pale Ale, made with wild American Comet hops, along with a German Kölsch, French IPA and an Aussie Red Rye.
In the coming weeks Frenchies will also open for Sunday brunch, which will be complete with pastries, charcuterie, cheese and breakfast beer. Whether you're a Francophile, craft beer lover or both, you'll want to check out this space.
Frenchies Bistro and Brewery is now open at The Cannery, 61-71 Mentmore Avenue, Rosebery. It will be open seven days for lunch and dinner (except for Sunday, which is only open for lunch), with Sunday brunch to start in the coming weeks. For more info, visit frenchiesbistroandbrewery.com.au.
Images: Alana Dimou.