Iconic Brisbane restaurant brought back from brink for fresh start
After facing liquidation, Montrachet reopens tonight with a bunch of new dishes and a Michelin-trained chef in the kitchen.
Clement Chauvin’s first encounter with Montrachet? When it beat his Canberra eatery, Les Bistronomes, to win Best French Restaurant in the 2023 Restaurant and Catering Awards.
Chauvin laughs when recounting the story.
“We went to the awards night in Sydney and actually won Best European Restaurant, which we were very happy with,” he says. “But at the same awards, Best French Restaurant went to Montrachet.
“As a French person, you know, you should be happy with Best European, but a little piece of your heart wants to win the French category.”
Chauvin began to follow Montrachet on social media.
Thierry Galichet opened the restaurant in Paddington in 2004, and it quickly developed a loyal local following for its elevated takes on classic French dishes. And from 2015, under the ownership of Shannon Kellam, that reputation went national.
So it was to the dining public’s surprise in July when Kellam placed the business into voluntary administration (despite the earlier collapse of Kellam’s BCN Events Group, which oversaw several hospitality businesses).
“I heard about the liquidation and thought, ‘I’ve had a similar restaurant in Canberra for 10 years now, and that runs like a well-oiled machine’,” Chauvin says. “So when I saw it was for sale, I didn’t think twice.
“I made an offer and the offer got accepted.”
Chauvin relaunched Montrachet this week, welcoming its first guests on Tuesday.
“There are expectations with customers in the Brisbane community, so you do feel that pressure,” Chauvin says. “But if you don’t thrive on pressure, you shouldn’t be in hospitality.”
To look at, this is still the Montrachet that Brisbane diners know and love on King Street (which itself was a facsimile of the Paddington original): red brick walls, red leather banquettes, dark timber, and gilt-framed mirrors, with the room split into the main dining area on one side and the comptoir on the other.
But the menu has evolved under Chauvin.
Never fear, the Montrachet classics – escargot, bouillabaisse, steak frites and enormously popular double crab souffle – are all present and correct. But new dishes include le duo d’agneau de printemps (spring lamb two ways), a roasted pumpkin and mushroom pithivier topped with sage and brown butter crumble, and a hearty beef Wellington with a red wine jus.
On the dessert menu, the classic creme brulee has been retained, but Chauvin has added a passionfruit souffle with chilli and coconut sorbet – a signature dish at Les Bistronomes.
If the changes spark concern, a look at Chauvin’s CV should set minds at ease.
Before Les Bistronomes, he trained in restaurants such as the three-Michelin-star Pic in Valence, the two-Michelin-star Nicolas Le Bec in Lyon, and the one-Michelin-star Claridge’s in London.
For drinks, Montrachet’s hefty 400-bottle wine list remains intact, now overseen by general manager Remon Van de Kerkhof (previously Establishment 203, Cru Bar and Oncore by Clare Smyth in Sydney).
Open Tue 5.30pm-10pm; Wed-Fri 12-3pm, 5.30pm-10pm; Sat 5.30pm-10pm
Shop 1/30 King St, Bowen Hills, (07) 3367 0030
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Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-at-large at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, the Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.