Food review: South Yarra bistro Entrecote wants you to eat well, laugh a lot and enjoy life ... and then there’s the meat

SITTING pretty where Lynch’s restaurant used to in South Yarra, Entrecote is proudly French and is fast acquiring its own identity.

Entrecote South Yarra

EAT well. Laugh a lot. And enjoy life. Roughly translated from the French, those are the three messages inscribed into the white tiled walls at Entrecote. And if you take their advice, you’re bound to have a good time at this Parisian bistro and cafe overlooking the Royal Botanic Gardens.

This is where Lynch’s restaurant used to be: a site of inimitable good cheer in the ’80s and ’90s, especially around Melbourne Cup time. Entrecote, dolled up in Lynch-like pinks and reds with geraniums on the balcony, channels some of that Hawke-era joie de vivre. But make no mistake, this place is fast acquiring its own identity, guided by owners Jason M Jones and Adam North, but responding even more to the embrace of a sophisticated set who love its happy hour bubbles, handsome Euro waiters and bottomless fries. Then there’s the meat …

FOOD

So often, I order my steak rare and it arrives medium rare. Not at Entrecote. My serve of grilled Hopkins River beef was deep purple — just the way I like it — and while there isn’t a lot of fat with this pasture-fed Black Angus from the Grampians, my thickly carved tiles had robust flavour and plenty of chew.

Chef de cuisine Simon Moss smothers Entrecote’s steaks with “sauce au beurre herbs de la maison” — a variation on the sauce Jones and North tasted at the Parisian restaurant, Le Relais De L’Entrecote, when they “caught up there for dinner” last year and hatched their South Yarra enterprise. On the side, in a jug, would be better but the sauce itself is nicely nuanced with tarragon and mustard to the fore.

The chips at Entrecote are merveilleux — bronzed and crisp, not too salty — but your $39.90 steak frites set is not complete until you get a salad. Entrecote’s is a beauty — soft, flouncing leaves glistening with a perfectly judged Dijon vinaigrette and garnished with walnuts and dominoes of fine-cut radish.

If beef isn’t your thing, there’s grilled salmon ($39) and oysters shucked to order with mignonette sauce ($4 each) and savoury gougeres ($5) — warm cheese puffs oozing French onion filling.

Idle on the patio at Entrecote, with a tulip glass of chilled Mumm, and you can navigate the bar menu. Lillet-cured gravlax gets a lift from fried liliput capers and salad ”Waldorf” ($18.90), while a skilfully constructed country terrine ($17.90) is scented with sage. A selection of French cheeses can be your bridge to dessert. A lovingly layered apple tart tartin ($17.90) impressed us, but the mouth-puckering brandy and chocolate mousse ($17.90), crowned with gold leaf,
stole the show.

On a return visit, we did breakfast at Entrecote. Bit wobbly compared with dinner. A three-cheese croque monsieur ($16.90) was not sufficiently warmed through, while attractive-looking French toast ($15.90), with lemon verbena poached peaches, was missing the promised citrus zing. Going back for the brioche breakfast roll.

DRINKS

Any place that lists Berocca among its breakfast beverages gets my vote. But Entrecote can also start your day with a Bloody Marie Antoinette ($14.90) ... best taken before your jog around the Tan. As for lunch and dinner ... it’s got to be champagne, hasn’t it? In this case, a perfectly chilled glass of Mumm Cordon Rouge for $15.90.

After that, Entrecote’s engaging wine list can have your tastebuds gambolling through the vineyards of Alsace and the Loire, Burgundy and the Rhone. It’s not a vast list, but thoughtfully assembled with a good number available by the glass. Australian wines are well represented, especially the shiraz.

SERVICE

They sure look the part. Long white aprons, black waistcoats and, in many cases, beguiling French accents. But the wait staff at Entrecote are still finding their feet. Understandable. This place has only been open six weeks. What matters is they make you feel very welcome and strike that fine line between having fun and retaining a certain formality.

X-FACTOR

Since Lynch’s closed, this site has been one of trial and a bit of error. How good to see the place looking smart again. Entrecote respects the bones of the Victorian terrace it inhabits, dodging the swags and drapes of yesteryear, but ennobling spaces inside and out with classy fittings and fixtures. I’m comfortable on the patio with its zinc-edged bistro tables. I’m happy in
Le Bar with its hanging baskets. And I could recline for hours in either dining room: downstairs, glowing rose red, or upstairs where it’s all serene green.

BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

This is South Yarra, darling. So don’t be surprised your leek quiche and lemon tart costs $16.90. Having said that, you could limit your order to steak frites and get out for under $40.

VERDICT

“We want her to be delicious, local, approachable and — above all — full of laughter.’’

That’s the vision Jones and North have for Entrecote and judging from two visits, it’s all those things. My only query is this: given the limited scope of the core lunch and dinner menu, will they have a lot of repeat business? Time will tell.

ENTRECOTE

WHERE: 131-133 Domain Rd, South Yarra. Ph: 9804 5468

FOOD: Parisian steakhouse

HOURS: Brekkie, lunch and dinner, daily

CHEF: Simon Moss

BOOKINGS: No

TABLE FOR TWO @7.30PM? Likely

TIME BETWEEN ORDERING AND EATING: Nine minutes

PERFECT FOR: Classic French fare

DESTINATION DISH: Grilled Hopkins River steak and frites

NOISE FACTOR: Pleasing ambience

ONLINE:entrecote.com.au, Twitter: @EntrecoteMelb