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Now don’t get in a huff when you go to Bistro Nido and have to sit outside in the arcade. There are only eight seats inside this bijou corner site (and two of them are at the naughty table, tucked into a tiny, wood-panelled alcove).

You’ll still be comfortable and undercover outside, so just pretend you’re in one of those elegant “passages” of Paris – only instead of antique galleries and wine bars, you get cool sneaker stores and bubble tea shops. Works for me.

So why are we here? Because it’s the 10th venue for Noni Widjaja and Derek Puah’s dynamic Devon Hospitality Group (Dopa, Devon Cafe, Tsukiyo), and they’ve not yet opened anything that hasn’t been fun. And because it’s in Regent Place, that crazy-good Tardis of Japanese ramen bars, barbecue, sushi and matcha cafes with a pop culture attitude. And because a French bistro with a Japanese twist is such a good idea.

Executive chef Zachary Tan and head chef Andrew Lee draw heavily on French bistro favourites, then tweak them with Japanese flavours. So rock oysters are topped with shiso jelly; coquilles Saint Jacques (scallops) come with umeboshi butter and bonito crumb; and Pioik sourdough is served with honeyed umeshu (plum) butter.

The same menu runs for both lunch and dinner. At lunch, I order lunchy things, like a crisp, thin buckwheat galette ($28). It’s a bit mad, richly topped with shredded confit duck leg, runny fried egg and gruyere cheese, and drizzled with a kumquat shoyu that makes it feel like a brunchy Breton okonomiyaki. You can add foie gras ($20) to it, or to the wagyu cheeseburger ($25), nicely done in a milk bun with bacon, cheese and house pickles. (But why would you?)

There’s a daily changing list of snacks (“petites bouchees”), while at dinner, the aged tuna crudo ($32) is popular, all velvety furls dressed with white soy and chives. Another big order is casarecce pasta from Fabbrica, tossed with ceps and mushrooms ($28), enriched with egg yolk and parmesan.

The tight wine list offers a glass of a bright, lively 2022 ChaLou pinot noir ($18) from Orange, with a small Reserve list that stars a 2019 Henri Boillot Montrachet Premier Cru ($695). If you’re inside, you’ll have a banquette with views of the well-stocked cocktail bar and espresso machine (Stitch Coffee).

They love their steaks. There’s a dedicated dry-aged wagyu program, with charcoal-roasted 220-gram wagyu oyster blade ($98) and wagyu tri-tip ($88), both with 9+ marble scores. Steak frites is a more modest choice for two, the 300-gram Jack’s Creek Black Angus sirloin ($48) charred on the bone over binchotan (Japanese charcoal) to medium-rare, then sliced and sent out with a golden pile of frites. Warm plates from which to eat it would have been a nice touch.

Duck, currently the dish du jour around town, is dry-aged for two weeks, before being blanched in master stock, roasted whole on the crown, and finished on the hibachi ($45/$85). Sliced into fingers, it’s fringed with crisp skin in a pool of glossy duck jus, served with a few large pickled kyoho grapes, peeled to reveal their sweet, tart flesh.

Group pastry chef Markus Andrew echoes the gueridon tradition of crepes Suzette ($28) by flaming a small copper pan of Grand Marnier at the table with a blowtorch. Flames dance around the long, fat, rolled crepe, filled with a fluffy mascarpone cream and sponge, and topped with mandarin segments. Fresh and citrusy, it’s more than TikTok fodder – although it is that, too.

There’s a casual ease about the service under Fransisca Natalia Setiawan, which, combined with the French technique in the kitchen, make Bistro Nido a real surprise packet.

It may honour the Paris bistro via a funky Japanese focus, but the best thing is that it ends up feeling very Australian. Especially when you don’t worry too much about where you are seated.