Fitzroy’s Little Rose is going permanent. It’s excellent news for fans of Rosheen Kaul’s cooking, and even better news for anyone who missed out on a seat at the table during its 12-week stint.
The announcement comes with plenty of newness. A new fit-out, a new wok burner in the kitchen and, most excitingly, a new menu that builds on Kaul’s signature spin on French-Asian cooking. Kaul hasn’t lifted the curtain on exactly what that looks like just yet, but hints at the likes of a spectacular fish à la meunière – whole fried fish finished with a Normandy-style brown butter sauce – plus peppery, lemongrassy Kampot snails and a quail salade Lyonnaise amped up with plenty of Sichuan flavours.
Kaul plans to bring back a handful of the hits that made the pop-up so special, too, with both the deeply savoury, deeply delicious Chaozhou-style clams and the cracking crab roe mashed potato making a mighty return. At the permanent Little Rose, Kaul is excited to push the idea of French-Asian cooking even further, “luxury is never taken too seriously,” she says, “and tradition is always open to reinterpretation”.
Little Rose will close for a fortnight for a light refit, designed to balance the elegance of the cafés of Belle Époque Paris with that of 1920s Shanghai salons, before reopening on Thursday 20 August.
Little Rose reopens Thursday 20 August. Bookings open Wednesday 5 August. Ground Floor Rear/274 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, littlerosefitzroy.com, @littlerosefitzroy