Arthur 2.0 shifts from set menus to walk-ins

In March, Arthur announced it was ditching its set-menu-only format. It’s an offering the Jane team’s little fine diner has championed throughout the seven years spent on its Surry Hills block. But change is here and there’s a snackier, walk-in-friendly Arthur arriving next month. Owners and couple Tristan Rosier and Bec Fanning are midway through a full-scale renovation. In March, they shared that the only remnants from the original Arthur will be the name and dedication to all-Aussie produce. That last point is a rule,

with the kitchen committing to exclusively using local food and drinks. Proteins will be Australian, just as the olive oil, flour, salt and wine will be. “We’ve created a framework that pushes us to be more creative,” Rosier says. “If there’s an ingredient from overseas that we feel a dish needs, we can’t just buy it, we have to either make our own version or find someone here who’s producing something similar.” On the new menu, that looks like yuzu-dressed prawns served raw with lightly

cured swordfish belly, and slow-braised kangaroo tail served with warrigal greens and potato. A pretty serve of Kinkawooka mussels, from South Australia, and top kohlrabi noodles that are sauced up with bush tomato and macadamias. And there are wobbly slices of custard tart – spiked with wattleseed, and using vanilla from Far North Queensland – that arrive with a scoop of cream. It’s a format the team does well at its ever-heaving Jane, just a few blocks away. Jane’s al fresco seating will feature at

Arthur 2.0, too, as will a version of the popular Australiano Hour. Expect the daily offering to include $10 snacks and cocktails, $7 beers and dishes off the main menu at a more approachable price. The new cocktails are big on personality: a snap pea Gimlet and an Aussie amaro-powered Negroni. There’s a Paloma with agave bianco and an alcoholic version of a Mont Blanc (a cream-topped coffee). The dining room’s reset changes everything from the layout to the furnishings. The space will be full

of green and terracotta tones, with textured walls and a bar to sit at for a snack and a drink. The kitchen is being rejigged, there are dark timber accents and warm light behind ceramic sconces made by Sydney-based artist Alessandro di Sarno. Recently, Sydney has been alive with hospitality pivots – Bar Vinny became Vin-Cenzo’s, Song Bird became Gran Torino, and Baptist Street Rec Club became Vitelli’s Upstairs. And while Rosier and Fanning acknowledge dicey market conditions and a general trend away from fine

dining informed their decision, they had been plotting this change for some time. “At a certain point, you want to change, you want to do something different,” Rosier said in March. “I think it’s actually a privilege to be in a position to have another crack at something.” Arthur is slated to reopen in July 2026. @arthurrestaurant

Arthur 2.0, Surry Hills, Tristan Rosier, Bec Fanning, all-Australian produce, walk-in dining, Australiano Hour, snap pea Gimlet, Negroni, Paloma, Kinkawooka mussels, wattleseed custard tart