Frenchie, a French-inspired restaurant and bar, opens in Collins Street on 27 January with a menu that prices everything at $14.
Helmed by hospitality professionals Julian Diprose and Lucas Boucly, Frenchie takes classic French bistro dishes and reimagines them for a new generation, with share plates designed to be bold, flavourful and accessible. Duck, fries, tartare and other French staples will hit tables with tableside service and roaming trolleys for some extra flair.
Frenchie’s $14 pricing extends beyond food to cocktails, bubbles and beers, making it one of the more unusual openings in Melbourne’s dining scene this year. Located at shop one, 15 Collins Street, the space leans into low lighting and high energy, offering a casual approach to Parisian dining that ditches formality without losing the essence of French flavours and techniques.
Frenchie – Collins Street
Where: Shop 1/15 Collins Street, Melbourne
Opening mid-February
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 5pm to 12am; closed Sunday
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Diprose and Boucly bring well-seasoned experience to the venture, and their approach with Frenchie seems built around making French dining less precious and more approachable. Share plates encourage communal eating, while the flat pricing model removes the usual mental arithmetic that comes with ordering multiple dishes and drinks.
French house and hip hop will soundtrack the space, adding to an atmosphere that leans more laneway bar than refined dining room. Frenchie positions itself as a rebellion against traditional French dining expectations, swapping white tablecloths and hushed tones for concrete, bass and movement.
Collins Street’s dining landscape has seen plenty of turnover in recent years, and Frenchie’s arrival adds another option for after-work crowds and weekend diners looking for something that sits between casual and considered. With its fixed pricing and focus on share plates, the restaurant is banking on volume and vibe over high margins.
The venue is slated to open mid-February, with the venue operating six nights a week from 5pm to midnight. Sundays remain closed, giving the team a weekly reset before the week kicks off again.
Whether the $14-for-everything model proves sustainable remains to be seen, but as an entry point it’s certainly designed to get people through the door. French classics made accessible, served with energy and priced to remove hesitation; that’s the Frenchie pitch.
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Dining and Cooking