The former Jet Caffe in Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building has been transformed into Manon; a French brasserie.
Marco Ambrosino and Manny Spinola (Lola’s Bondi) took over the venue after Jet shuttered during the pandemic, with the pair partnering up to bring all-day dining to the CBD.
“I have walked past the site for 24 years, dreaming of opening a grand cafe, which is why I am so thrilled to be in partnership with Marco to bring a French brasserie to the QVB,” says Spinola.
“Manon will be a place to sit and people watch while enjoying French cuisine, giving customers a taste of the European lifestyle whether it’s at breakfast before work, a long lunch or an ambient dinner.”
The venue will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner and a light-night menu on Friday and Saturdays alongside coffee and a selection of takeaway pastries from 6am.
Thomas Boisselier has taken on the head chef role of the 140-seat indoor-outdoor restaurant after time working in Michelin-starred kitchens in Lyon.
Guests can choose from egg meurette or a Brittany buckwheat crepe for breakfast, with crab on toast sure to be a crowdpleaser.
The breakfast menu also encompasses a selection of baguettes covering tomato mozzarella, brie and ham and a croque monsieur, to name a few.
Classic lunch dishes cover a beef burger with brie, club sandwich and steak frites, with diners able to sample oysters and caviar from the raw bar.
Grilled split prawns, bone marrow tartine and snail meurette feature as entrees before mains which include live whole lobster with lemon and herb butter and steak au poivre.
The dinner menu expands to list beef wellington, grilled scampi, cote de boeuf for two, crab and Gruyere souffle and duck with pommes dauphine.
Diners can finish off their Manon meal with a classic crepes suzette or a mocha and Valrhona mille feuille.
Drinks-wise, expect a 400-strong wine list, with the majority of bottles sourced from France, as well as an aperitif-forward cocktail selection.
Manon opens on 10 June and will operate seven days a week.
