Dominique Crenn’s Petit Crenn opens tomorrow in Melbourne
Petit Crenn, the first Australian venue from three-Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn, opens tomorrow, 30 October, at 495 Collins Street in Melbourne. A partnership between Crenn and Salter Brothers, the 40-seat all-day venue takes its cue from the comptoirs of Paris, open from 7am for coffee and pastries, through lunch and into the evening with apéros and dinner.
Crenn is the chef and owner of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, and in 2018 became the first female chef in the United States to be awarded three Michelin stars. A James Beard Award nominee, World’s 50 Best Icon Award recipient and one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024, Petit Crenn marks her first venue in Australia.
“Opening the doors this week is a very emotional moment for me. Petit Crenn comes from the small cafes of France I grew up with, where you might come in for a coffee and stay for lunch, and nobody minds. I have carried that idea with me for a long time, and to finally share it with Melbourne, with a team who understands it so well, means a great deal,” said Crenn.
Leading the kitchen is head chef Juan Rendón, who joins Petit Crenn after roles across chef Curtis Stone’s restaurants and collaborations in Los Angeles.
Mornings at Petit Crenn start with takeaway coffee, sandwiches and a daily rotation of freshly baked pastries from Monforte Viennoiserie. Bread throughout the menu comes from Emma and Claudia of local bakery Our Place.
From late morning, the menu moves into Petit Crenn’s signatures: caviar with savoury madeleines, egg bavarois and pickled shallot; steak tartare with egg yolk jam and sauce au poivre; and a croque madame with jambon, gruyère, Dijon butter and béchamel. Salads and tartines run through the day, from a modern Niçoise with tuna, quail egg, haricots verts and olives, to a smoked trout tartine with pickled red onion, dill and cream cheese.
In the evening, apéros include: croque-Landais with duck pastrami, foie gras and tomato vierge; petit gougères with Comté and thyme; and house sardines with fennel pollen and preserved lemon. Tartines turn to rock lobster with uni béarnaise and sauce américaine, and mushroom pâté with black garlic and beef jus, while larger plates include garlic sausage with pommes purée and jus, and a baked local catch with smoked trout roe, beurre blanc and sauerkraut.
Each night from Tuesday to Saturday, a du jour dish brings a different French classic to the table:
* Tuesday: cordon bleu, chicken, jambon, pommes purée
* Wednesday: classique steak frites, sauce bearnaise, salad
* Thursday: mussel marinière, preserved lemon, beurre de baratte, frites
* Friday: lobster tartine, rock lobster, uni béarnaise, sauce Américaine
* Saturday: French raviole, époisses, beurre blanc
To finish, there is Tarte Tatin, caramel tart with dark chocolate, French vanilla soft serve with salted caramel, and a decadent chocolate mousse.
The drinks list follows the same rhythm throughout the day. Florian Thireau, director of mixology at the Crenn Dining Group (including Bar Crenn) in San Francisco, leads a cocktail list made up of house classics, including Venice (salted Campari, fresh grapefruit juice) and Amalfi (Finocchietto, grapefruit, Cocchi Dry Vermouth, Tanqueray 10 gin), and French classics, such as Kir Breton (Cassis liqueur, pear cider), Boulevardier (Campari, house sweet vermouth, Woodford Reserve Bourbon), and Jammy Martini (seasonal jam, Merlet Triple Sec, lemon juice, Beefeater London Dry Gin).
The wine list of around 40 bottles leans French, taking in Champagne from producers including Larmandier-Bernier, Vouette et Sorbée and Laherte Frères, as well as the Loire Valley, Burgundy, the Jura and the Rhône. Alongside these sits a selection from Australia and New Zealand, with Victorian producers including Lethbridge, Place of Changing Winds and Ten Minutes by Tractor. Ten wines are available by the glass, from a Loire Valley Muscadet and a Côte du Forez Gamay to an orange moscato giallo from Quealy on the Mornington Peninsula. A selection of ciders, La Sirene beer and non-alcoholic options round out the drinks list.
The room has been designed by Crenn herself, supported by the Salter Brothers design team, and draws on the landscapes and coastline of Brittany, her home region in France. The room has been designed by Crenn herself, supported by the Salter Brothers design team, and draws on the landscapes and coastline of Brittany, her home region in France. Shades of blue run throughout, from soft slate walls and white timber panelling to the deep navy of the long, curved bar. The marble-topped bar is lined with bentwood stools, and each morning the day’s pastries are laid out along it. Handblown pendant lights beneath a pressed tin ceiling throw warmth over the length of the bar, and arched stained glass windows sit above café curtains on brass rails, looking out to Collins Street. At the rear of the venue, Le Contour, a five-person spot on the bar places guests within the energy of the pass for a close view of the thinking behind each dish.
Matthew Butcher, director of culinary at Salter Brothers, said: “Watching Dominique and the team bring Petit Crenn to life over the past few months has been a real privilege. It’s small, personal and very particular, which is exactly what we hoped it would be. Seeing Melbourne walk through the doors today is the moment we’ve been working towards, and we’re proud to have Dominique’s first Australian venue on Collins Street.”
Petit Crenn is open from Friday, 30 October. From Tuesday to Friday, the comptoir will be open from 7am - 10pm. Coffee, pastries and sandwiches will be available first thing, with the all day menu starting at 11.30am. On Saturdays, it will open 11.30am-10pm (lunch menu moving into dinner menu). A full breakfast menu will be introduced at a later date.
Petit Crenn, 29th October 2026
