La Brasserie

ENTREES
Roquefort salad (iceberg lettuce, pear, walnuts and creamy Roquefort dressing) ($ 18) was delicious. Very cheesy and flavoursome. The pear added a nice refreshing crunch and sweetness.
Goat’s cheese soufflé (twice baked with caramelised onion and beets) ($ 19) was also fantastic. Good combination of flavours.
MAINS
I had the 200g bavette steak (O’Connors pasture-​fed flank steak with caramelised eschalot and green beans) ($ 30), cooked medium-​rare.
My boyfriend had the 250g tournedos frites (Black Angus grain-​fed Scotch fillet with French fries) ($ 42), cooked medium with bearnaise sauce ($ 4).
Both steaks were outstanding. The fries that came with my boyfriend’s steak were a bit bland though — they could have done with some rosemary or other seasoning.
DESSERTS
The crème brûlée (caramelised Daintree vanilla custard with canele Bordelais) ($ 15) was fantastic. Definitely my favourite out of the two desserts we had.
The soft-​centred chocolate pudding (Valrhona 70% guanaja with pistachio ice cream and black cherry) ($ 15) was the richest, most chocolatey dessert I have ever had. This was a ‘small doses’ kind of dessert for me but my boyfriend loved it.
SERVICE
Service was great. Lovely waiters with lovely French accents.
DECOR
I remember reading somewhere that former PM Paul Keating is a regular visitor to this restaurant and in fact helped to redecorate the place a couple of years ago. The décor is really classy and I wouldn’t expect any less from the great PJK.

Great atmosphere, amazing food, authentic dishes, will be coming back for more!
My only experience with French food prior to visiting La Brasserie was Iron Chef, so I didn’t really know what to expect. We were seated at the couple booths down the back of the restaurant, great atmosphere, very cosy, great setting for an intimate Friday dinner.
Food was very rich, creamy and full of flavor, everything I expected it to be!

Great food. Great service. Great wine. Good atmosphere.

Walking into La Brasserie, alarm bells might ring in your head … something about it seems kind of wrong, sort of tacky and old fashioned … how do I put it? At first impression it felt like an expensive French restaurant-​that-​takes-​itself-​too-​seriously. Apologies for the flagrant over-​hyphenation. It’s kind of a flagrant-​over-​hyphenated-​sort-​of-​restaurant, really.
So, when I was taken to La Brasserie for a birthday treat, I had my guard up, I thought, «hello Pompous French Waiter, here we go…»
But La Brasserie did not turn out to be an over-​priced, over-​cooked, frou frou French restaurant experience.
Why? Well, the proof was in the food itself, and in that department, La Brasserie impressed. The oysters, the escargots, the tender meat. Delightful wine. Everything was cooked with great care, and not drowning in too much buttery sauce. The room was dark, and even though maybe La Brasserie isn’t the most hip joint in the universe, the atmosphere was welcoming and luxurious. It was really quiet when we were here, though other reviews note they have live music some nights.
Later, I had to tell my American friends, no, my boyfriend did not take me to a French place called «The Bra», and yes, it was actually really good!

Thursday nights are when La Brasserie feature live musical accompaniment to your French dinner. I went with some family friends on a Thursday night for the ‘Piazzola and Pinot’ evening, where there was a pianist and accordionist playing sporadically throughout the night. I was the only one who hadn’t been here before. All the staff was French, which I thought was great (I always appreciate when a restaurant tries their hardest to maintain their authenticity). The service was sluggish and inconsistent from the start, beginning with the 20+ minutes to have our order taken.
I ordered the escargots, which were good, but not as garlicy or herby as I would have liked. For the main, I had the navarin printanier, which was a succulent lamb ragout with mixed vegetables and rice. I enjoyed it, though it was a bit tame on flavor as well. Overall, if I were to compare the food here with French food I’ve had in the past, I’d consider this to be a disappointment. Once the music started playing, no one at the table could hear one another (perhaps this was because the front terrace, which is usually opened, was closed from the rain). The music would have been pleasant had the volume been lower. Keep in mind, if you go to La Brasserie for the live music, there’s a 10% surcharge.

Oooohh Fancy. Too fancy for me. I cant read the menu. I think it’s all in French.
But it’s a really great place, near the city, and near the cross. Some great food, though when I look at the food from the menu, I know neither what it is, nor how to pronounce or spell it. A meal is around $ 30 plus, and I’m sure the nights costs can go very high if you are so-​inclined.
Some fancy wines too, and all that jazz. It’s a pretty stylish suave place to eat, so save your pennies and have a good night, because it wont be cheap. Although, I make it sound worse than it is. It’s a fancy restaurant. They all cost. This one isn’t so bad, and for the price it is a very comfortable, hip and happening place.