It was never meant to be a restaurant empire of 1000 years, but the reign of Kingdom of Rice is headed for an earlier than expected end.
Mitch Orr, Cam Fairbairn and Sophia Thach's pop-up opened in October for a six-month run but will close at the end of this month.
"The last day is December 30. They decided to close it early, it's a pop-up, it's the nature of things," Good Food was told when enquiring about a January reservation. Kingdom of Rice rolled into the drive-in bottle shop at Mascot's Tennyson Hotel, hot on the heels of the Mike Eggert-led Dirty Italian Disco.
Eggert has popped up elsewhere in the Merivale empire, teaming up with chef Khan Danis at the Royal on Bondi Road, where they swung open the doors last Friday at Totti's, which focuses on hand-crafted pastas, meats and Italian cocktails.
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