118-126 Crown Street, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia.
+61 2 9358 1222.
Opening on Crown Street in an unlikely spot opposite the former premises of the Hard Rock Cafe, La Brasserie quietly assumed the mantle of Sydney’s most classically French-looking diner. It’s a deep, dark room, with a bar running down one side – just the place to get into the swing of things with a cloudy Pernod or Ricard, or a Kir Royale made with a crisp blanc de blancs. The other wall is taken up with mirrors covered in specials written in lipstick. They supplement a menu as redolent of stereotypical bourgeois Paris as the Gauloises being smoked on the front terrace. Hors d’oeuvres see the boxes ticked with panache: the soufflé is double-baked Gruyère with artichoke and fennel, the duck foie gras comes with toasted brioche, apple and hazelnut, and the escargots positively swim in garlic butter. Hit the steaks – tartare, barramundi, entrecôte, frites, côte de boeuf or onglet – for something with a little more heft, or go all out with a plateau de fruits de mer (a collection of raw and cooked seafood) for a grand finish.
Open: lunch Mon-Fri, dinner daily. Licensed. Mains $25-$32.
-PN
WebsiteSource:
Qantas The Australian Way July 2008
French banter between the waiters as they dish up the likes of chartreuse de porc and lapin aux pruneaux – truffle and prune-stuffed roast rabbit.
-CBSource:
Qantas The Australian Way July 2009