French restaurants in Australia
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A
Aux Batifolles
This French bistro does the trick for both big occasions or simple weeknight dinners. All the standards are here: duck confit, moules frites and steak tartare. Desserts too: crème brûlée and tarte Tartin just the way maman used to make. While you won’t be wowed by culinary innovation, you’ll love the delightful service, careful presentation, hearty serves and very modest prices. Bookings advised.
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Vamps Bistro
Behind red-framed shop windows, this romantic French restaurant at Five Ways plates up classics such as duck à l’orange and crêpe Suzette in the evenings. However, it’s the weekend breakfasts that keep us coming back. After a hard day’s night, grab a seat in the courtyard, order a strong coffee and a serious breakfast ($6 to $16), and vamp it up with the wait staff.
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Bistrode
The old meat mincer in the window is a giveaway – Bistrode is a celebration of all things carnivorous, with a menu to challenge the lily-livered. And the lily sure ain’t gilded – it’s more likely dipped in offal or served in the warm pig’s head salad with pickled egg dressing. The food is exceptional: hearty and intricate with plenty of kooky twists.
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Sel et Poivre
This casual bistro is perfect for homesick French expats; most of the staff speak French, the music is French, and the menu is available in French. Dishes like garlic snails, duck pâté and steak tartare are for the hard-core, so for something more mainstream order the delicious baguette sandwiches, roasted lamb loin or goat's cheese and walnut salad.
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Bécasse
There’s nothing gratuitously flashy about Bécasse, but it will linger as one of the most memorable dining experiences of your trip. The muted, elegant decor perfectly complements superbly created dishes. The degustation menu (with/without wine $190/130) is eight courses of gustatory heaven created by chef Justin North. Book ahead and dress up.
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Tabou
French right down to its lacy curtains, the flatteringly-lit Tabou is perfect for a low-key romantic dinner. Chef Jacob Brown whips out popular entrees like sauteed sweetbreads and cheese souffles, along with main dishes like the black pudding and veal fillet. Service is typically Gallic, meaning you'll either be flirted with or barely acknowledged.
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Bistro Moncur
Minimoguls and luncheon ladies while away long afternoons beneath Bistro Moncur’s vaulted ceilings and Matisse-style murals. Chef Damien Pignolet’s dishes such as the blue swimmer crab omelette have become ingrained in Sydney’s culinary lexicon. The wine list will make you want to take up mogulling, too.
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Courgette
This fine French-influenced establishment may be named after a vegetable, but meat gets top billing here, from pan-seared calf liver to wonderful prawn ravioli. Frequented by an older clientele, this restaurant is earnest but low key and offers a splendid assortment of mature wines by the glass or bottle.
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Libertine
Locals love this small, traditionally decked-out shopfront for its real French country cooking and va-va-voom interiors. The menu includes whole suckling pigs (though you’ll need to bring nine of your friends to help out with that order) and is requisitely strong on its game and cheeses.
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L’Oustal
No cookie-cutter Francophilia here. This cute neighbourhood bistro is breezy and informal (more Carla Bruni than Edith Piaf) and does French standards with good produce and the odd contemporary twist. The winter menu is when the chef really comes into their own.
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Whirrakee Restaurant & Wine Bar
In one of Bendigo’s historic buildings with a view to Alexandra fountain, the French-influenced menu features Wagyu beef and tortellini of blue swimmer crab. Downstairs there’s a small wine bar with cosy sofas.
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Must Winebar
Not content with being Perth's best wine bar, Must is one of its best restaurants as well. The vibe's hip, slick and a little cheeky, while the menu marries classic bistro dishes with the best local produce.
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Restaurant Rendezvous
Almost swallowed up by the Grand, the warm, casual atmosphere of this long-running place complements the perfectly prepared Mediterranean-style seafood, grills, pastas and crepes.
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Petit Snail
This intimate restaurant is off the main beat and is more Bordeaux than Byron. French staff serve up traditional red-, white-and-blue fare such as steak tartare, wild rabbit terrine, duck confit and lots of fromage. There's outdoor dining on the verandah.
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Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel
Local chef’s French comfort food is probably just what you’ll need when the roulette table has got the better of you.
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Wild Duck
Sophisticated, clever and absolutely food focussed – Wild Duck is one of WA's best regional restaurants. Save room for dessert, which, when we visited, included witty takes on liquorice allsorts, Welsh cakes and fried egg on toast.
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Piaf
A laid-back bistro with a loyal following, Piaf serves a small selection (just five mains and a few salads and lighter fare) of good-value contemporary food.
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Bronte Road Bistro
This friendly neighbourhood bistro is the perfect reward/draw for the lovely clifftop walk from Bondi. The casual, always-bustling interior (half indoor, half outdoor) and the menu of French favourites are true crowd pleasers.
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Anise
This dapper 21-seat restaurant and wine bar features an award-winning menu of seasonally inspired Gallic fare. Patrons plant themselves around the narrow bar and feast on amuse-bouches (entrees) like oysters and Alsace foie gras, followed by grass-fed black Angus beef, fresh fish of the day or slow-braised spring lamb.
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Alain's Restaurant
For fine dining this intimate French restaurant opposite Cannonvale beach is first-rate. White linen, silverware and soft candlelight add up to romance. Indulge in the six-course table d'hôte menu and you'll have time to ask about that Citroën parked in the corner.
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Le Parisien
Feast on classic French cuisine à l'Australienne (try the kangaroo fillet with bush-tomato chutney) right on the water.
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