La Grillade

By Franz Scheurer

It’s been there for nigh on 30 years and it’s still contemporary. La Grillade occupies a lovely old corner building and enchants with lots of wood, rendered walls, tiles, sparkling glassware and decent tableware. The serviettes deserve a special mention: large, substantial and absorbent (and you might need that… especially for the snails!).

As you walk in you see a couple of cosy alcoves on the right and left, the main dining room ahead with a very open kitchen (with the mother of all range hoods) and, further on, a small comfortable bar (the perfect waiting area) and great little courtyard, a favourite spot for lunch.

The menu is classic French with an occasional modern twist. The difference between La Grillade and so many other olde worlde restaurants is the superb food and proficient service, expedient and friendly. The wait-staff know their stuff and miss very little. The wine list is extensive, featuring wines from around the globe and some real gems at very affordable prices. The offerings by the glass, however, could be improved.

We tried the ‘Hand cut Eye Fillet Steak Tartare with soft-boiled Quail’s Eggs’ and ‘One dozen Snails in the Shell with Garlic Butter’ for our entrées. The terrific tartare is presented fully seasoned with wafer-thin crusts and the snails present as superbly as they taste. If you’re courting I suggest you make sure you both have them…

For mains we ordered the “Twice baked Goats’ Cheese Soufflé on Tomato Concassé’ and the ‘100% Black Angus Eye Fillet 250g – grain fed for 200 days ‘John Dee’ Warwick, QLD’. The soufflé was extremely resilient but light and wonderfully fluffy and flavoursome; you’d have a hard time recognising this as twice-baked. The steak: the best piece of meat I have had in years, perfect meat, perfectly seared and rested. This ‘blue’ cooked eye fillet was everything a carnivore would expect of a last meal: wonderfully smoky flavours (from the char-grill) and superb texture, the house-made béarnaise the correct consistency with acid and buttery flavours in perfect balance and the chips crunchy and dark golden. A side of green beans in garlic butter were extremely tasty and almost tender…

A bottle of Gevrey-Chambertin proved to be the perfect match for the food and was eminently enjoyable.

Cheeses are served at room temperature (brownie points for that!) and if you’re only ever going to eat one Crème Brûlée in your life, then it has to be the one here! It’s fanbloodytastic.

I must say I’m impressed with the apparent cutting edge food served under an old-fashioned mantel of provincial French food. This is not your suburban French bistro; this is seriously good produce cooked with knowledge and passion. AND it’s perfectly seasoned.

Score: 7.5/10

For more information and bookings:

La Grillade

118 Alexander Street

(Cnr Albany & Alexander Sts)

Crows Nest NSW 2065

Ph: 9439 3707 or 9439 3996

Fax: 9906 3571