Hatted Canberra chef Louis Couttoupes has developed his massively popular pop-up, Kiosk, to its final form – Onzieme – all midst the 2021 lockdowns.

“Kiosk for me was always a trial run for a permanent restaurant; I wanted to know if the Inner South was receptive to the kind of food I wanted to make.

“What began as market research into the Inner South ended up being so much more than that, after we weathered and adapted to the 2019 bushfires, and both ACT lockdowns.”

After finally opening on Tuesday 19 October, delayed a month due to lockdown, Onzieme is now booked for Fridays and Saturdays up until December.

“It’s been a great response from the community in Kingston, after being quiet for such a long time.”

Couttoupes said that Onzieme has seen plenty of old customers from Kiosk, as well as some new faces too. The continued interest of the surrounding community may be attributed to the “chalkboard menu concept” brought over from Kiosk, which refrains from fussy menus and highbrow dining set ups.

Here are a few things you can look forward to being trialled at Onzieme right now: a walk-in-friendly outdoor space, for snacks after work, transitioning into full dining as the weather warms; sodas made inhouse, inspired by the seasonal produce of the kitchen; an ever-changing menu currently featuring smoked duck with sour plum sauce, and Kiosk-favourite: Wood oven roasted cabbage; their breezy, French-bistro style street level location, surrounded by the trees of Kennedy Street, with the windows open in the warmer months; and the secret underground dining area, a transformed basement providing Berlin bunker bar vibes.

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