Belle Epoque
Cuisine: French

Mains: $30 to $40
Entrees: $15 to $20
(or $40 if you get the foie gras)

1000 Ann Street
Fortitude Valley (Emporium)
Tel: 07 3852 1500

So I decided that I was going to prompt my husband-to-be to pretend he was still trying to impress me and take me out for a romantic, yummy dinner. Although I was the one who chose the restaurant and made the booking, I like to pretend that he did all the work.. well he did drive and put up with me being camera happy so we’ll call it even.

Belle Epoque is a lovely “little” (seats 100) French bistro at Emporium in the Valley. After reading about Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles I had been dreaming about hopping on a plane and going over for some steak frites, but this I guess is the next best thing if you live in Brisbane.

The decor is wonderful, and the time I spent not eating, I spent looking around and trying to imagine my dream house with a dining room like this, only smaller.

Our lovely waitress (and the service is really great) came over and introduced us to the menu. I asked (and I always try to do this at new places – you should to! It really saves you from ordering the worst thing on the menu) what the most popular dishes were. She pointed out many more than I was expecting and it probably made it more difficult to decide what to eat.

She also let us know that if we were drinking wine that because it wasn’t very busy yet that she could bring out a few for us to try before deciding. As cool as it would make me to be able to wine taste test at Belle Epoque – swivelling the glass to look for the wine’s legs – I really couldn’t go past a French Martini.

My dining partner settled on a really enormous (750mL) bottle of French beer. In true French style it came in a corked bottle that had to be popped like champagne and sat in its own ice bucket, served in a large wine glass.

Entree
Coquille St Jacques, Saumon Fumé, Purée De Choux Fleur, Basilic $18.00
Scallop rolled in smoked salmon, cauliflower puree, basil

The entree we picked was really delicious, though in hindsight I wish we had ordered two entrees instead of sharing! I also wish we had taken the opportunity to try the Foie Gras, but there will be a next time, I’ll make sure of it!

Main
Steak Frites, Béarnaise $35.00
Beef eye fillet w fries & bearnaise sauce

The steak frites was very nice. It came with a Béarnaise sauce, and whether you are meant to put this with the steak or the frites, I don’t know so we just dipped everything in it.

Main
Carré D’Agneau, Champignons Grillés, Echallotes Confites, Jus Simple $32.50
Rack of lamb, grilled swiss brown mushrooms, slow cooked shallot, lamb jus

I of course chose the rack of lamb. It was soooo good. I love lamb, but I really love good lamb. This was good lamb. I was going to get a side of Pomme Purée (Mashed Potatoes) but for some reason decided against it. Someone needs to stop me next time I say no to potatoes! To make up for it I stole quite a few frites.

Okay, the next part of the meal was my FAVOURITE. I wish I had ordered two, and had them both for myself. I haven’t had too many Crême Brulées in my time but Belle Epoque provided me with the greatest taste sensation in a Crême Brulée ever! I told my Mr. that he HAD to try it, and I’m glad he loves me enough to realise that though I kept asking if he wanted more, I secretly wanted to eat the rest of it myself. I’ll be dreaming of that dessert for a long, long time.

Dessert
Belle Epoque Crême Brulée $13.00

We ended the meal with some coffee while I savoured my dessert. I was very pleased with the whole experience. My single disappointment is that the Belle Epoque Patisserie which is right next door closes at 5pm every day so I wasn’t able to stare at lots of yummy cakes in the shop window. But there’s always tomorrow!