Arthur and Jane are a happy Surry Hills couple: him a fine, set-menu-only interpretation of Australian cuisine; her a “more playful wine bar version of that,” Tristan Rosier tells Broadsheet. Rosier co-owns the pair with his partner, Rebecca Fanning. Now they’re heading to the southern ‘burbs, opening 120-seat Italian joint Fior in Gymea.
“We’ve been looking for a space [in the Shire] for over 12 months. When we saw it, we were like, ‘this has to be it’. We signed a lease in December and have been working on the fit-out since January,” Rosier says. The sprawling restaurant occupies a quirky red-brick corner building, with a clock tower roosting on one side. There’s a 30-seat, all-weather balcony; large pasta-focused open kitchen; 12-seat bar; and a dining room full of loose furniture, “so we can create any [table] combination”.
The bar is split in two: six seats overlooking a bench dedicated to cocktails, and six overlooking a salumi-stocked larder and oysters shucked to order. The kitchen – where Arthur's Will Lawson will be head chef – is focused on cuisine that’s “Italian-esque or Italian-through-the-lens-of-an-Australian-guy,” Rosier says. “I haven’t nailed the wording yet.”
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SIGN UPUsing a 95:5 split of Australian to Italian produce – only using things “we can get better from Italy, like Parmigiano Reggiano” – various shapes will roll out of a whopping pasta extruder (which can make 18 kilos an hour) on the daily, joining a snacky selection of small plates. Then there’s the gelati.
A ”top-of-the-range” Italian gelato machine will service ever-changing flavours of gelato and sorbet. But the fun part? A gelato trolley, for tableside scooping. “At the forefront is the F word: fun,” Rosier says. “Just let your hair down – [dining] doesn’t have to be serious. If you want a serious night out where you have to think heaps about the food, go to Arthur.”
It’s pertinent to touch on this team’s happy-hour plans, with Jane’s $12 Martini and $2 oyster deal one of our city’s best. Good news, Gymea, a daily aperitivo hour is incoming. And with award-winning bartender Eduardo Conde (El Primo Sanchez) steering both it and the cocktail list, it’s sure to make for some very happy drinking.
The dining room, which was formerly much-loved neighbourhood trattoria Caruso’s, marks the largest undertaking for the couple. “It’s funny: bigger spaces, bigger bills. But we’ve got the ability to do more people, so it’ll be interesting,” Rosier says. “We do three or four turns at Jane in a night. Whereas [in The Shire], people don’t dine out as late, so you need a bigger space.”
Fior is slated to open at 752-756 Kingsway, Gymea, in late April 2024.