SA restaurant review | Inside La Buvette bar on Gresham St, Adelaide CBD

One of the best bars in the city, tucked away in a quiet nook, has expanded its bistro. Our reviewer finds it may not be great for the waist but will tickle your tastebuds.

Croquettes at La Buvette, Adelaide

Too much butter. That’s the problem with French food, my boy is explaining.

Non, non, non, I respond, preparing to launch into an impassioned defence of the many nuances and forms of this most noble cuisine – just as “les escargots” are dropped at the table.

Six of the meaty critters minus their shells are hidden in a purpose-built cast iron dish beneath a deep pool of glorious, garlicky molten … uh … butter.

As well as coating these morsels in a delicious slick, a bottomless supply of this emulsion can be sponged up on slices of fresh bread to your heart’s content – or should that be consternation.

La Buvette is on Gresham St, which runs between Hindley St and North Tce in the CBD.

The warm and inviting dining space inside.

The snails are just one example from a recently expanded bistronomy repertoire that provides yet another reason to venture down a gritty laneway between Hindley St and North Tce and discover La Buvette.

This small-to-medium-sized bar has long been one of my favourite places to find a drink. It is a happy space full of possibilities, somehow always buzzing but never too busy.

Owner Dominique Lentz is from the Alsace region in northeast France and spent close to a decade working and travelling around Australia before meeting his Adelaide-born wife-to-be and deciding to settle in South Australia.

Anchovy tartines at La Buvette, Adelaide

He opened La Buvette in 2015 with the idea of weaving together the best bits of his original and new homes.

What started as a bar serving natural wines from both countries alongside a little charcuterie has evolved, with the gradual introduction of a broader drinks list and more substantial plates.

This year, on its 10th anniversary, the metamorphosis has accelerated, to the point the bar can also be considered a fully-fledged bistro.

Dining-friendly low tables have replaced higher perches along the far wall where a row of emptied bottles tell their own stories. Banquettes will be installed in the next stage of renovations.

More significantly, at least for head chef Perryn Hayes, the kitchen will also be expanding.

While Hayes’s role at La Buvette has grown exponentially, the space he works with at the end of the bar remains the same.

Considering a large component of his menu is now cooked to order and he has only a single helper on the pans, it is a true tour de force.

The much-loved staple and expertly cooked porterhouse steak frites.

To start, La Buvette’s contribution to the anchovy toast metaverse is made up of svelte white fillets from Spain, strips of roasted capsicum, capers and parsley all tossed together on a mayo-slathered piece of sourdough.

And if slugging snails doesn’t appeal, the crunch and crumble of golden panko-crumbed croquettes filled with a creamy ooze of speck and gruyere in a bechamel sauce should do the trick.

Porterhouse, supplied by McLaren Vale’s Ellis Butchers, is grilled precisely as requested and well rested, given every bit of juice is retained by the meat.

The steak can be ordered on its own but that would mean skipping frites that have the extra-fried crispness of the naughty bits at the bottom of a chip packet and a green peppercorn sauce with a subtle lingering heat that is so good it is still being sampled long after everything else is gone.

Creme brulee is among the desserts on the menu.

Coq au vin isn’t made with a rooster, as it might be in France, but otherwise follows traditional criteria.

The breast and leg from half a poussin (small/spring chicken) is braised with red wine, onions, lardons and mushrooms, this base then reduced to a full-bodied sauce that does wonderful things with a potato puree containing just a soupcon of butter.

More of the good stuff is used with the “flathead lobster”, an imported bug-like crustacean that, while cooked on point, doesn’t quite live up to the heady aroma of its singed shell.

Still, with five lobster halves for under $40 few will be complaining.

Dessert? Mais oui! Creme brulee is present, of course, while a tarte tatin is made with the caramelised apple slices fanned out across a disc based on a short crust (rather than puff) pastry recipe that has a light, crumbly cake texture. Good, different, as the ad says.

La Buvette is a special place. Everything about it feels considered and genuine. While it might not always be beneficial for the waistline, it’s sure to lift your spirits.