The Macleay Street finer-diner will be transformed into an accessible all-day French operation.
Restaurateur Andrew Becher has closed chefs’ hatted Catalan restaurant, Parlar, and will chase a shift in the Potts Point clientele, opening an all-day French food venue, Le Frerot, in its place.
The French term for brother, or little brother, is a nod to Le Frerot’s neighbour, Franca restaurant, which Becher also owns. While Franca is a brasserie with “a sense of occasion”, Le Frerot will be a more accessible everyday venue.
The upmarket Parlar only traded at night, whereas when Le Frerot opens in late July, it will be an all-day operation. Becher points to changing demographics in Potts Point, with a more mature clientele in the area wanting more daytime options.
“At night, it’ll be a bistro,” Becher said. The restaurateur explained Le Frerot would deliver freshly baked boulangerie items and an all-day breakfast, which would make way for a dinner menu of bistro favourites such as French onion soup, gruyere souffle and mussels. It will also include house-made charcuterie and a cheese room.
The closure late last year of Bistrot 916, the Potts Point restaurant from the team behind CBD venues Clam Bar and Neptune’s Grotto, also created more space in the suburb for the French-leaning Le Frerot.
Becher said he was proud of Parlar’s three-year run, and the two chefs’ hats the Catalan-inspired restaurant had been awarded (later pruned to a still commendable one hat). The high-end restaurant featured dishes that looked like avant-guard eclairs, or inspired by Joan Miro paintings. Head chef Jose Saulog’s anchovy churro and bonito ajo blanco was some of the prettiest tapas in town.
While Saulog remains involved, overseeing Le Frerot in a group executive chef role, Becher said the Catalan menu and specialised team at Parlar had its challenges. The restaurant periodically shut for staff to take extended holidays back in Europe, opening only to host functions.
While the European oak and bullnose joinery will remain when Parlar reopens as Le Frerot in July, Parlar’s signature 1970s tapestries on the wall will go.
“We’re going to use French artworks, and change the colour palette,” Becher said of a range of planned changes to the restaurant space.
Becher, who also operates Armorica, a grande brasserie at Crown Street in Surry Hills, and Pelicano Potts Point, a reboot of his Double Day venue that opened late last year in the former space of Hugos Lounge at Bayswater Road, is keen to keep the incoming home of Le Frerot on Macleay Street as an “evolving space” for the hospitality group.
“In a few years, it might be Roman, we want to keep it fluid,” he said.
Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.
