By Gemima Cody
Greetings, eaters. If you're reading this, it's the future. With the script getting flipped every hour or so, anything could have happened. It's possible that we'll be locked down. Perhaps, then, a restaurant review is going to seem weird and out of touch. I respectfully disagree. Reviews aren't just a directive to eat out, they're the story of the places and people who make Melbourne's dining culture great. And French Saloon, for now, for later and for always is one Melbourne's most reliable stars.
Since it was opened by the hospitality power trio of Con Christopoulos, Josh Brisbane and Ian Curley in 2016 I've probably recommended French Saloon to more people than any other venue, partly because of how hard that task can be.
Fluffy blini with whipped cod roe. Credit: Simon Schluter
People ask what my favourite place is, but what they want is the right restaurant for them. For the birthday, for the client meeting. For the vegan or the fussy dad who only likes steak – and has many opinions about it. French Saloon ticks every box.
The space is stunning – an airy, crimson-ceilinged loft that sits above Hardware Lane, dominated by a detailed zinc bar. Light washes in from both the street and the geranium-trimmed terrace to the rear. Some tables are clothed, others bare, reflecting the fork in the road you can travel, be it dropping your wallet on their sturgeon caviar and mortgage-y fizz, to taking up the great-value two- or three course lunch.
Flood-lit French Saloon is always a go-to. Credit: Simon Schluter
The service, lead by restaurant manager Tim Davey and wine boss Russell Keightley, is built on the premise of reading the room. Gentle and descriptive if guidance is needed. Discreet and deferring to the table's commandant if that's the play.
And while the opening menu of French classics – steak frites, luxe duck with cherries – spaced with flashes of Melbourne bistronomy was always worth punching the air about, head chef Todd Moses has only continued to mature in the role. He knows when to flex the guns in dazzling specials, but make sure the general offering stays rock-solid.
Oysters have their oceanic aspect boosted with a shaving of salty, cured fish roe, bottarga and a hit of horseradish to whip you to attention. Fluffy potato blini, cloud-soft and still warm, scoop equally airy whipped cod roe. It might be the purity of spicy-or-mild padron peppers, nature's dangerous pick-and-mix, grilled until they melt, then belted up with spicy, tangy aioli.
What are you drinking? Chablis, burgundies or Aussie shiraz from the big guns in the game? A pet nat from the Adelaide Hills? This is a list that prides itself on its democracy. It's one for big and small, for Old World and New.
Lardo and anchovy toasts. Credit: Simon Schluter
Therein lies French Saloon's not-so-secret super power: its ability to plant a foot firmly in different camps without compromising its integrity. It's elegant, but not exclusive. Interesting, but not ostracising.
Moses cooks the hits, turned up just enough. If you want a drive-by bite, puffed gougeres, like savoury profiteroles, explode with the cheesy power of ripe comte; fried bread is tomato-tangy, anchovy-salty and belted in with cured pork fat (lardo) so fine it vanishes on bite.
Trout, sauce vierge.Credit: Simon Schluter
The vast veg section reflects a strange world where early pine mushrooms (garlic-buttery, but herb-and-acid fresh, crunched up with fried bread crumbs) is sharing menu space with unusually late tomatoes. But that itself reflects the kitchen's dedication to serving what walks through the door.
Desserts champion the virtues of good technique. Madeleines are baked to order, the paw-shaped cakes filled with salted caramel. A baked creme caramel meanwhile is all bitter-sweet sugar and rich cream balance.
Creme caramel. Credit: Simon Schluter
There are a lot of reasons this is one of my bomb-proof recommendations. Here's hoping that it, like all our restaurant stars, are panic-proof.
Score 15/20
Address Level 1, 46 Hardware Lane, Melbourne, 03 9600 2142, frenchsaloon.com
Open Mon-Fri noon-late.
Cost Snacks $8.50-$12; mains $26-$35.
Vegetarian All dietaries, preferably with warning.
Drinks Classic cocktails and a democratic wine list with big stars and new guns.
Go-to dish Blinis with whipped cod roe dip and salmon roe, $26
Pro tip A two- or three-course lunch special makes things easier still, $49; $59.