Bar Francine is a neighbourhood wine bar located on Vulture Street in West End. It comes from the team behind El Planta, who have crafted a casual home-like space for all comers to enjoy good food, great wine and disarmingly playful service. The 50-seat venue features vintage and recycled furnishings, with original elements like restored VJ panels and exposed green tiles creating a throwback character that is bright and welcoming by day and dark and vibey at night. Like El Planta, Bar Francine’s menu is veg-forward with seafood playing a supporting role. Head chef Brad Cooper is weaving some European influences across the offering, which includes tuna bruschetta with piperade, mussels in almond rouille with shellfish vinaigrette, stracciatella with leeks vinaigrette, kohlrabi ‘minute steak’ with sauce grenobloise and monkfish Véronique with asparagus and orange wine. As for the drinks, bar helmer Chris Bancroft has curated an all-Australian wine list showcasing new-wave and established vino, which is joined by nostalgia-inducing cocktails and old-school Australian beers.