Restaurant review: Le Pas Sage in Adelaide

French, chic and a little bit cheeky. Here’s what got the SA Weekend food reviewer into a stir.

Filet de boeuf at Le Pas Sage bistro, Adelaide

French corridor leads to mischievous figure (2, 3, 4). That could be the cryptic crossword clue to the name of today’s restaurant. It’s a clever piece of word play that works in multiple ways, all of them apt.

Le Pas Sage. Put the last part together and it could refer to this little bar and bistro’s squeezy dimensions or location, fronting a busy footpath in the middle of the city. Or, on a philosophical level, it might be the conduit that transports its customers to a different part of the world.

The meaning in French, on the other hand, is literally “the not wise” or, more colloquially, “the naughty one”. That speaks to the young, rebellious spirit of Le Pas Sage, says co-owner Charlotte Baruc, who wants to show people French dining isn’t all expensive and snooty.

Baruc grew up in a small town near Marseilles where she owned a food truck and came to Australia with a similar vision in mind.

Having visited all the big cities, she was attracted to the food culture of Adelaide and, once here, decided on a more ambitious permanent venue.

By chance, she came across a former coffee shop on Hindmarsh Square with a large window opening to the street and alfresco tables. Inside, a bar and small kitchen are squeezed in on one side, while the dining room has been dressed up like a theatre setting with red velvet, plush wallpaper and classic posters of various aperitifs and even (gasp) cigarettes.

Confit duck leg with truffle mashed potatoes at Le Pas Sage bistro, Adelaide

Roast beef carpaccio with mustard ice-cream at Le Pas Sage bistro, Adelaide

The ruse becomes more convincing when everyone else in the room on this night, waiters and diners, seems to be either speaking in French or at least with a healthy accent. Baruc, who manages the floor, swings between talking to the couple at the next table in her native tongue, then telling us about her favourite Provençal rosé.

This kind of advice is necessary for a blackboard wine list that is one of the quirks of Le Pas Sage, listing variety, (French) region and price, but giving no further details of the different producers. Given most bottles are more than $90, a considerable leap of faith is needed.

Cocktails, however, are displayed in a separate folder with each combination linked to a tarot card (The Empress, The High Priestess) and impressive illustration.

The menu format is also unusual. Head chef Jeremy Jover hails from the alpine region of eastern France and, even in summer, his “apero” snacks are mostly dairy-based, with bread and flavoured butters, fromage fraise and oven-baked camembert.

Platters feature a selection of cheeses, charcuterie or both. Everything else is categorised as a main course and priced accordingly, including dishes like beef carpaccio with mustard ice cream that would normally feature as an entree. Sharing is definitely the way forward.

Interior at Le Pas Sage bistro, Adelaide

Interior at Le Pas Sage bistro, Adelaide

If some of this seems deliberately unconventional, what comes from the kitchen shows great respect and understanding for the pillars of French cooking. The tapenade slathered on toast for a complimentary nibble has enough garlic to satisfy a Toulouse truck driver. Saucisson is properly dried and spiced, the accompanying salad dressed in an exemplary vinaigrette. Slices of baguette come with quality imported beurre, albeit in little foil packages. Baked camembert comes from the oven bubbling like the crater of Vesuvius. A scattering of dried thyme and drizzle of honey are spread across the molten cheese in the middle but the best bits are those stuck around the ceramic dish when it cools a little.

A confit duck leg has skin that glistens as if brushed with varnish and stands upright in a mortar of buttery mash flecked with truffle. Hold the stripped drumstick and lobes of luscious meat easily tease from the bone, plopping on to the spud bed below.

The boeuf is another classic, with two pieces of medium rare filet accompanied by oven roasted veg (mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, carrots) and the perfect amount of bearnaise fragrant with fresh tarragon. The beef, perhaps, should have been given longer to rest and let the juices settle.

Desserts also cover some familiar territory including chocolate fondant and a crème brulee that needs a fiercer blast from the blow torch to fully caramelise the sugar. The frozen souffle is like a frothy, aerated ice cream with green colouring that comes, not from artificial mint flavour, but the herbal liqueur Chartreuse. It’s surprising, enjoyable and just a little bit naughty. Le Pas Sage through and through.

24 Hindmarsh Square, city

0431 439 535

lepassage.com.au

Main courses $38-$54

Open

Dinner Mon-Sat

Must try

Confit duck with truffle mash; iced souffle a la Chartreuse

VERDICT

Food 14/20

Ambience 16/20

Service 15/20

Value 12/20

Overall 14.5/20

As a guide, scores indicate:

1-9 Fail; 10-11 Satisfactory;
12-14 Recommended; 15-16 Very Good; 17-18 Outstanding;
19-20 World Class

delicious.com.au/eatout