La Buvette Potts Point Plans July Wine Bar Return

Nathan and Sali Sasi, with business partner Morgan McGlone, are preparing a July revival of La Buvette at its former Challis Avenue address, bringing back a French wine-bar name that traded in Potts Point for 25 years before closing in 2019. For Sydney drinkers, the appeal is precise: 10 seats inside, outdoor tables and French plates made for a glass rather than a grand brasserie booking.

La Buvette Potts Point Targets a July Opening

The La Buvette name is likely to return to the door. Nathan Sasi said the team is “99 per cent sure” the venue will be called La Buvette, restoring the site’s identity on Challis Avenue.

A July opening is planned for the compact address, with 10 seats inside and outdoor seating expected to carry much of the atmosphere. If you are tracking Sydney wine-bar openings, treat this as a brief drink-and-bite address, not a long lunch booking.

The operators have moved quickly since launching The Goodies Hospitality Group in 2022 with Bar Copains in Surry Hills. In 2025 they opened Bessie’s in the former Surry Hills home of Chefs’ Warehouse and transformed Darlinghurst’s Bar Vincent into Vin-Cenzo’s.

Why the Former La Buvette Site Still Matters

The former La Buvette site still carries memory on Challis Avenue. After La Buvette closed, the space was used in subsequent years as extra room for a neighbouring Spanish eatery.

Outdoor restaurant scene at La Buvette with diners seated at white-clothed tables, staff moving between indoor and outdoor spaces, and the restaurant's signage visible on the storefront. — La Buvette's outdoor dining area fills with guests enjoying wine and food at tables beneath a leafy tree.

The location gives wine drinkers a clear reason to watch the address. The redevelopment of the building where Bistrot 916 traded will include a boutique hotel, while Fratelli Paradiso and La Buvette’s next-door neighbour, Fei Jai, remain long-running fixtures of the strip. If you are choosing where to linger nearby, the draw is the street itself: established dining names, a changing hotel address and a small French bar returning to a site locals already know.

The Bar Copains Team Sets a French Brief

The brief is pointedly French. “Where Bar Copains is more broadly European, this will be more fixed French,” Sasi said. “Put it this way, you won’t see pasta.”

The kitchen is already working in that register. Dishes named for the opening include flounder meuniere, crumbed veal brains with Swiss chard, and oysters with house-made merguez sausage. After a work trip to France, Sasi and McGlone have also been testing goose rillettes and barbajuan with Swiss chard and goat’s curd.

The sweet finish stays in the same lane: a crepe cake, plus miniature creme brulee served in egg cups. Before the wine list arrives, the food tells you how to use the place: order small French plates around flounder meuniere, rillettes or oysters with house-made merguez sausage, then keep the visit closer to a glass and a bite than a full restaurant sitting.

Challis Avenue Has a French Opening to Watch

The closure of hatted Bistrot 916 in November 2024 left room for another French address on the strip, and the planned La Buvette revival steps into that space without trying to mimic a large-format restaurant.

French dining has also been gathering pace across Sydney. Le Frerot opened on Challis Avenue last year in the former Parlar site, with Andrew Becher’s all-day menu drawing locals for boulangerie items, ham-and-gruyere baguettes and steak frites. Becher also owns Armorica Grande Brasserie in Surry Hills.

Beyond Potts Point, Loulou opened at the T3 domestic terminal in March 2026, alongside Cafe Loulou in North Sydney. Ananas is due to reopen at The Rocks in May, while Lucette has opened in the Southern Highlands with a French former head chef at Monopole. L’Entrecote Group, which began on Sydney’s north shore before opening at Circular Quay, is also moving toward Double Bay with Monsieur Paul, a concept focused on Lyonnaise gastronomy, French jazz and occasional cabaret nights.

What Wine Drinkers Should Track Next

Wine drinkers should track the format: a French wine bar from a team already working across hatted restaurants, set inside one of Potts Point’s known small hospitality addresses. Sasi has framed it as a place for a quick drink and bite, and the outdoor element should be central. “We discovered at Bar Copains, people like sitting outside,” he said.

In July, Challis Avenue is set to gain a small French wine bar with Sydney pedigree: classical French flavours, a compact street presence and a returned name that locals already know.