Manu Feildel takes French food back to basics at Le Grand Cirque

After the gutting and refurbishing of the former Mama Baba in South Yarra, its next incarnation, French-inspired Le Grand Cirque, will open on March 28 with celebrity chef Manu Feildel at the helm. "We pulled everything out and started again," says Feildel, a chef and judge on TV cooking show My Kitchen Rules. The new kitchen is smaller, and there's a lounge area where customers can just have a drink and snack.

Feildel closed his Sydney restaurant, L'etoile, in January. At Le Grand Cirque, he wants to create a place "to chill out and relax". The menu will bring French food back to its basics and will include healthy salads and dishes to share, including coq au vin and blanquette de veau served at the table, "in cast-iron pots with a ladle''.

The restaurant is a partnership with the Made Establishment Group, which owns Gazi, the Press Club, Jimmy Grants and Hellenic Republic.