It is early evening, still light, and the salty south-westerly beats on while Vin Populi in Fremantle's West End hums to the tunes of Dean Martin and a cheery weekend crowd. In a semi-private dining space at the rear, a soon-to-be-cleared table is strewn with napkins and just-emptied wine glasses – the aftermath of revelry. On the centenarian wall behind this tousled tableau, a small, etched plate reads “Naughty Corner.”
The extant metal plate is one of Vin Populi's playful yet reverent nods to its predecessor Roma Cucina, the Abrugiato family-run institution that first
