France Soir
11 Toorak Road, South Yarra
(03) 9866 8569

France Soir is one of Melbourne’s “institutions”- open since 1986, it apparently has fans from all round the world, from rock stars to politicans.  The problem with “institutions” are that patrons seemed to be a bit more forgiving if something doesn’t quite hit the mark.

Stepping into  this bustling Brasserie, we were immediately directed to the bar- the waiter did not even bother asking whether we have a booking and we had to fight out way through the narrow corridor only to be waved back down the aisle where our table near the door is.  In saying that the service is not too bad, just a little too brisk for my liking.

Food is a little less consistent.  The entree of onion soup $14.50 was to die for, served piping hot and rich with cheesy goodness.  The dumpling of sea perch with prawn sauce ($20) is equally fantastic, 2 pillows of cannelloni like “dumplings” sitting prettily on a intensely creamy prawn sauce full of flavours of the sea.  The boys couldn’t help but mop the plates clean with the fresh baguettes provided.

The duck confit pate $15.5 got us a little bit confused- now we are not saying we are expert in french cuisine but we expected duck pate to be quite smooth, yet this has a texture of a rillette.  On further inspection of the menu, the french name of this dish was indeed rillettes de canard.  Either way the duck rillette/confit is very bland and I don’t think anyone would order it again.  Oysters open to order ($17/6, $31/12) was very disappointing- it wasn’t very fresh at all.  Thank god we only ordered 6.

The mains rated better amoungst our group- the fish of the day (market price) was John Dory, simply grilled and served with a wedge of lemon and a bunch of dill was very fresh and cooked to perfection.  The rabbit of the day ($37) stewed in a creamy mushroom sauce manages to remain tender and succulent, although I must say the meat was not as flavoursome as I would like.

Saute scallops with King Brown Mushrooms (this is a mains size) is huge.  The scallops are perfectly cooked however I found that the mushrooms are a bit bland- it just made the whole dish a bit boring.  It would have been great if it was wrapped in a bit of speck (OK, once again NOT a French food connoisseur) or the mushroom cooked with a bit more cream and herbs perhaps.

The highlight of the mains would be the half roasted duckling with orange sauce ($36).  The flavours of this dish really pops and balance each other out, there’s an intense orange flavour and yet it never masks the flavours of the duck.  The duck  is also surprisingly tender-I would definitely order this dish next time I visit.

Dessert, in my opinion is one of the most important part of the meal- it should provide a perfect finish to a dinner.  Sadly, dessert (all $13.50) in France Soir was nothing to go nuts about.  If LuxBite is open, which on this occassion it was not, I would highly recommend you to simply cross the road and enjoy some desserts there.

Why don’t they make their dessert fresh in France Soir?  Is it really that hard?  Our tarte tartin and crepe suzette was luke warm… one suspects that they microwaved it.  I have the pleasure of trying freshly made tarte tartin and crepe suzette before and it’s simply world’s apart from what I am tasting here.  Disappointment and empty calories does not make me a happy piggy.

If you must have dessert, creme brulee and the icecream/sorbets are a better choice.  But once again, why not just cross the road?  Luxbite is open till 9.

Overall, you just gotta be really selective in what you order in France Soir and you will probably have a good meal.  As for whether it’s value for money… well, $98 including wine for an inconsistent meal is quite an expensive experience I must say.  Will I go back?  Probably only if I really have to.  6/10

P.S. Thank you Esky for all the wonderful food porn pics