There’s plenty of news to digest in Melbourne’s food and drink scene; so much so that keeping up with the goings on might sometimes feel overwhelming. But we’ve got the cure for what ails you – or at least your attention span – with Melbourne and Victoria’s latest served up hot, fresh and fast.
Missed out on a seat at Rosheen Kaul’s French-Chinese pop-up, Little Rose?
The star chef has just extended service at her hit Fitzroy pop-up Little Rose through to the end of July. That means you’ve got around a month to try that vol-au-vent – the one dressed with oyster mushrooms and Pacific oysters – clams done Chaozhou-style, and if you’re lucky, those delicate little quenelles that Kaul describes as “beautiful soft clouds of fish and cream”.
Little Rose runs until Sunday 2 August. Bookings for the pop-up’s extended season are open now.
Tom Sarafian drops into the Ca Com courtyard for one day only
It’s Ca Com’s fifth birthday, and to celebrate chef-owner Thi Le and the team are calling in their pal Tom Sarafian for an all-out shawarma shindig, serving up the lesser-known banh mi kebab. The dish draws on the influence of Muslim communities in Vietnam, bringing everything there is to love about shawarma and everything there is to love about a banh mi into one glorious handheld snack. Tom’s throwing the lamb shoulder on the spit roast, Thi is marinating it in fish sauce and Vietnamese spices, and then they’re serving it up in the same flatbread they use in Zareh – lathered with Tom’s famous hummus, of course.
Catch Tom Sarafian at Ca Com on Sunday 28 June, from 12.30pm until sold-out, more information at @cacom.banhmi.bar
Aru Archives: taste the greatest hits for $75
To celebrate five years of Southeast Asian deliciousness on Little Collins Street, Aru is digging into its back catalogue and offering you a great deal. Aru Archives brings original bar manager Darren Leaney back alongside chef Nico Koevoets to revisit and rework the drinks and snacks that made the restaurant’s reputation. This means the return (for a month, at least) of the duck sausage sanga (Aru’s take on the sausage sizzle), alongside 2026 remixes of the warmed oyster with perilla mignonette, finger lime and paperbark oil, and the steamed mussels on baguette with turmeric mayo, both dishes that helped define the venue early on. In the glass, you’ll be able to revisit the Pretend Marriage – the cucumber-scented, cucumber-free cocktail born out of lockdown – plus the Houndstooth, a Martini powered by Hartshorn whey vodka, and the crowd favourite Kaya Toast Milk Punch.
Aru Archives runs June 29 to July 24, Monday to Saturday, 5pm–10pm, $75pp for three mini cocktails and snacks, aru.net.au.
An Etta experience for $38? Here’s how it’s done
After a sell-out run last year, Etta chef Lorcán Kan’s laksa makes its way back to specials board every Wednesday night during winter. The deeply warming, deeply fragrant dish is full of everything you’ve come to know and love about Kan’s noodle soup: lemongrass, garlic, makrut lime, galangal, crisp shrimp and golden tofu, all coming together with a bounty of noodles they’re making in house. And these aren’t just any noodles; they’re wheat noodles made with the ash of roasted oyster shells – a process they say makes for near perfectly chewy noodles.
Lorcán’s laksa is available at Etta every Wednesday throughout winter. Bookings are recommended.
It’s exceptionally affordable cocktails at Stokehouse Pasta & Bar this winter
Throughout winter, the price of your Negroni, Martini or Limoncello Spritz at Stokehouse Pasta & Bar will set you back no more than the minimum temperature of the day. The team at the beachside diner are capping it at one degree celsius, which means you could be fronting as little as $1 at the bar.
Stokehouse Pasta & Bar’s weather-dependent cocktails run throughout winter from Wednesday to Saturday, maximum two drinks per person.
Mahjong makes its way to Gertrude Street
Have you gone Mahjong mad? You’re not the only one. Join Steve Chan and the gang at Moondrop for a series of Sunday Mahjong sessions in their newly minted Mahjong Room. The $20 buy-in will get you four chips to play in a four-person game, with each chip fully redeemable on Moondrop’s Mahjong-inspired cocktail list.
Mahjong Nights at Moondrop begins at 6.30pm every Sunday. More information here.
Everything on the menu is $14 at Melbourne’s newest French restaurant
How would you like your entrecôte steak? Medium rare and served with a price tag of just $14? Perhaps you prefer your confit duck leg and potato sarladaise at a modest $14? Or are you of the opinion that your salad Niçoise should set you back no more than $14? That’s the proposition at Frenchie on Collins Street, arguably Melbourne’s most approachable French bistro, where everything on the menu is just $14.
“Taking a lot of inspiration from Parisian bistros and late-night wine bars, the menu celebrates all your favourite French classics served in a way that feels unpretentious and full of energy,” says co-owner Lucas Boucly. Your outrageously affordable outing awaits – make a booking at Frenchie today.
Frenchie, Shop 1/15 Collins St, Melbourne, open 5pm-midnight seven days a week, frenchierestaurant.au, @frenchie.melb