This place came highly recommended from a Melbourne colleague, and on this Easter Sunday, as we were driving along Toorak Rd and saw that there were some empty tables (this place is usually fully booked), we knew it was faith.
Food
France Soir was awarded one hat in The Age Good Food Guide 2006. We were keen to try this place out for a couple of reasons:
- the recommendation
- to compare hatted restaurants in Sydney to the same ranking in Melbourne
- there are no good traditional French in Sydney
Like a typical French bistro, we were delivered some baguettes with butter as soon as we walked in the door. The bread was soft and crunchy, quite well done. We began our French experience with Duck foie gras (50g) with toasted bread ($35). We'd never tried foie gras before. It was pretty great. The "meat" was very gamey and has that wild aroma. The texture is very smooth but not jelly like. It's hard to describe really. This was served on some small pieces of toasted white sandwich bread. There wasn't enough bread to share around the richness of the foie gras. In the word of Iron Chef, and now the verdict. Would I pay that price for foie gras? No.
For the other entree, we went with the less extravagant Tripes au riesling ($17.50) - Tripe in a tomato & Riesling sauce. The tripe was cooked until soft but still with a bit of bite, the sauce was garlicky and aromatic, a perfect foil with the tripes. So simple and done so well - which sums up the experience really for everything that follows.
The Filet de boeuf béarnaise (250g) ($32.50) - Thick eye fillet with béarnaise sauce was a classic and a winner. The beef was of good quality, charred to medium-rare as requested, and well rested and juicy. The béarnaise was a classic. A little sweet and a little sour, this paired perfectly with the steak and was sublime with the crunchy French fries.
The waiter recommended a special of pork cutlet with a potato galette ($43). A massive piece of pork chop arrived, with a fantastic stock-based sauce. The meat was medium and succulent, and the potato galette cheesy and creamy. There was a little bit of greens there for decoration purposes more than anything, as I am sure I ingested enough calories to last me the week, but it was definitely worth it.
We thought there weren’t going to be enough vegetables so we also ordered Green Beans ($7). We need not have worried about the vegetables, and the beans were good but not great.
Unfortunately, there was no way I was going to fit in one of their classic French dessert…
Rating - 8
Atmosphere
Typical French bistro feel. The place was dark, with a huge front bar, displaying desserts as well as bottles, occupying the room. Luckily it was not that busy a night as the tables were VERY VERY close together. We had to squeeze in between the tables and even then, we could hear the conversation a few tables away (and no they weren’t shouting). Maybe it’s because of this, and those waiters, that lends a certain “je ne sais quoi” kinda charm to this place. There are a few French memorabilia around the room, posters of old French movies and old champagne bottles. Menus are written on the mirrors (in French only) and the music is very cool.
Rating - 2
Service
All the wait staff (who, incidentally, are almost all male) are French, or at least speak French. You have got to love a waiter with a French accent, even if they don’t provide the service you want. Luckily these waiters not only sound good, they do their jobs.
Not as well as you would expect from a one-hatter admittedly (water not refilled, dishes not cleared on time), but I think everyone probably writes it off as being French. All part of the experience really.
Rating - 3.5
C-factor
For the massive and tasty meals and the fun, it was worth the money. It’s certainly cheaper than eating in Sydney.
Rating - 1.5
Brownie Points - 15
Info
11 Toorak Rd
South Yarra
VIC 3142
Phone (03) 9866 8569
Website
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