Late night dinner at The French Brasserie, Melbourne CBD

"Paillard de boeuf" "beef steak" "minute steak" Bone marrow" "bordelaise" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "French" "French Brasserie, Melbourne" "The French Brasserie" "Flinders Lane" "Melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne food blog" "Melbourne CBD restaurants" "French restaurants"

It was the weekend before Christmas and I had flown into Melbourne a day earlier than the Boy in order to attend to some “secret wedding business”.  It was for my final dress fitting at Luci Di Bella and despite enduring a terrible flight with crying babies, vomiting toddlers and a delay on the tarmac for nearly an hour I remained hyped with excitement.

My Dad and Stepmum’s apartment is very conveniently located just off Flinders Lane; meaning with a short skip and a jump you can find yourself submerged in one of Melbourne’s hottest spots for restaurants; PM24, MoVida, Chin Chin, Cumulus Inc, Coda, Ezard…need I go on?

Despite their close proximity, I have not had the fortune to visit many of these fine establishments as my family are also star entertainers.  They are well known for throwing many fabulous dinner parties that often carry well on until the wee hours of the morning. As a result when I am in Melbourne, I rarely get the chance to check out the local eateries because there is too much good food to eat at home!

Arriving late on a Friday night we were all in agreeance that cooking would prove to be too much of a hassle and headed out to one of their favourites: The French Brasserie. We were greeted by the owner of the restaurant like we were family, which is not an uncommon occurrence when out with these two. They get a similar reception from many of the fresh produce sellers at the Prahran Markets which is something you wouldn’t expect in a big city like Melbourne. We were given some complimentary champagne to celebrate the beginning of the silly season with him and sat out in the alfresco dining area sipping away before being ushered to our table.

"Freshly Shucked Pacific oysters" 'Sydney Rock Oysters" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "French" "French Brasserie, Melbourne" "The French Brasserie" "Flinders Lane" "Melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne food blog" "Melbourne CBD restaurants" "French restaurants"
Freshly Shucked Pacific and Sydney Rock Oysters

After enjoying some freshly shucked Sydney Rock and Pacific Oysters I started to feel the warmth of the champagne glow through my veins and all my stress from the crazy, hectic week slowly drained out of me. Living in separate cities makes it hard to keep my family up to date with all my wedding plans. As a result there was a lot of catching up for us to do! What made this moment even more special to me was that all my bridal babble was met with excitement and genuine interest. As not all my close family members have been by my side during this precious time, so their love and support has been worth its weight in gold. Or black truffle even 😉

"Filet de boeuf" "beef fillet" "beetroot puree" "duck fat potato" "potato salardaise" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "French" "French Brasserie, Melbourne" "The French Brasserie" "Flinders Lane" "Melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne food blog" "Melbourne CBD restaurants" "French restaurants"
Filet de boeuf

Knowing there was a long weekend of Christmas feasting ahead of us we scanned the menu for something light. My Stepmum and I chose the filet de bouef.  My thickly cut tender yearling eye fillet was seared to a firm crust on its surface yet carved smoothly like pate under my knife.    An elegant smear of ruby red beetroot purée gave a hint of sweetness to the delicate meat.  It was exactly what I felt like. The dish is normally accompanied by a long block of potato salardaise; potatoes cooked in duck fat. I was unfortunately informed that the potato contained gluten or onion, I can’t quite remember, but basically it wasn’t suitable for me. They served us an extra dish of French fries to make up for this.

"Paillard de boeuf" "beef steak" "minute steak" Bone marrow" "bordelaise" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "food photos" "Perth food blog" "food blog" "Chompchomp" "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "French" "French Brasserie, Melbourne" "The French Brasserie" "Flinders Lane" "Melbourne restaurant reviews" "Melbourne food blog" "Melbourne CBD restaurants" "French restaurants"
Paillard de boeuf

Dad ordered the paillard de boeuf, a yearling beef minute steak served with marrow and bordelaise sauce. The decadent flavours of the bone marrow gave a richer and bolder flavour to the beef and if his dish wasn’t laden with onion I would have loved to have given it a try.  I cannot remember that last time I tried bone marrow, possibly it was at the family table as a child? What a perfect start to what was to prove an incredible Christmas weekend.  Let the eating begin!!

French Brassiere
2 Malthouse Lane, Melbourne CBD VIC 3000 | (03) 9662 1632 | http://www.thefrenchbrasserie.com.au/site/
 
Price:                     $$$$       (Entrée $16-20, Mains $34-43)
Food:                    4.5/5 (ultra-fresh cuts of meat, faultless preparation)
Service:                4/5 (I almost felt like family, I love that all the wait staff are French!)
Ambience:          4.5/5 (hidden down a little lane way, has a bistro vibe)
Drinks:                  4/5 (Dad picked the wine, it was something scrumptious from Bordeaux)
Total:                     17/20

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9 thoughts on “Late night dinner at The French Brasserie, Melbourne CBD”

  1. What a gorgeous looking meal! Even as a local, I still have not yet made it to all that Flinders Lane has to offer, like your parents, mine too love to cook and host parties…so why go out when I can having amazing meals in? 🙂

    Have continuously heard beautiful things about the French Brasserie though and am convinced I need to visit!

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