Latest offerings at one of Hobart’s coolest eateries, Faro, is tres bien!

Faro’s latest incarnation – Nouveau Faux – gave us the chance to reminisce about our French travels and choose from the most exquisite menu, writes Alix Davis.

ALIX DAVIS

3 min read

November 4, 2023 - 12:00PM

Faro at Mona. Picture: Jesse Hunniford/ Image courtesy of Mona

Food and Wine

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Although I was one of the hordes of Australians who headed to Europe this northern summer, my time in Paris was brief. Sure there were freshly baked early-morning croissants from the boulangerie around the corner and stunning views from the slopes of Montmartre, but we didn’t quite make it to the Moulin Rouge. However, no harm done, as an evening at Faro’s current incarnation – Nouveau Faux – gave us the chance to experience a rousing rendition of the Can Can performed on two large xylophones by four musicians. No, I didn’t kick up my heels, but it definitely got my feet tapping.

Faro’s latest theme – set to run over the summer – is French, and executive chef Vince Trim and his team have embraced all things Gallic with gusto. While the food is not traditionally French (come on, it’s Mona!), each course of the set menu ($175) pays homage to one of the world’s great cuisines.

We begin with the Gang of Four, an exquisitely presented set of amuse bouche that are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palate. A miniature banh mi packs the flavours of this French-influenced (the baguette, the pate) Vietnamese class into a truly tiny package, while a petite souffle topped with silver leaf tastes as good as it looks.

The Faro dining space is arresting – with views over the water and James Turell’s spherical light experience, Seen Unseen, delicately placed in the centre – but add wandering minstrels with loud hailers, a pot and spoon, a child’s keyboard and a squeaky pig that I later found in the pet aisle at the supermarket and the space becomes even more intriguing. There’s no rhyme or reason (that I can discern) to the musical part of the evening, and it’s a charming melange of improvisation and planning. Here a piece by French composer Yann Tiersen, there a piece of free-form percussion and bass saxophone and a generous dash of je ne sais quoi.

One of Faro Restaurant’s latest offerings from their Nouveau Faux, Bordeaux, menu titled Gang of Four, including a Petit soufflé which features a glass tart and asparagus cappuccino; Flavours of bánh mi, which includes mushroom pâté, pickled daikon, carrot and cucumber, crisp kimchi; and a Petit pois à la Française which includes spring peas, Béarnaise soft serve, tarragon. Picture: Jesse Hunniford/ Image courtesy Museum of Old and New Art

The musicians have judged it perfectly – treading the fine line between gig and background music with finesse.

Trim’s menu is also perfectly executed, with each dish being much more than the sum of its parts. I would never willingly order a cold seafood salad, but Faro’s fruits de mer – including mussels, southern squid and salt cod is a wonderful collection of textures and flavours, sitting on a bed of saffron rouille – is exceptional. French onion soup is a classic Gallic dish, but here it’s “spring” onion soup and while the elements of the original are there, this is a fresh and light translation that happily includes a umami-packed piece of gruyere – although it appears in this dish as a mousse, rather than cheese on toast.

One of Faro Restaurant’s latest offerings from their Nouveau Faux, Bordeaux, menu the Tarte tatin which features caramelised eschalots, witlof, Jerusalem artichoke, sherry caramel, thyme, puff pastry, bay oil and Comté ice cream. Photo credit: Jesse Hunniford/ Image courtesy Museum of Old and New Art

Tarte tatin apparently originated in the kitchen of a railway hotel run by the sisters Tatin in the town of Lamotte-Beuvron in north-central France. Stephanie, who headed up the kitchen supposedly overcooked an apple tart but decided to make the best of things and served it anyway. By the late 1930s the tarte – a caramel-sauce-clad confection – had made its way to Maxim’s, one of Paris’s finest restaurants and tarte tatin had secured its place on French menus. Tonight’s savoury version takes onions and caramelises them to a dark, glossy sweetness before shrouding them with pastry, baking, flipping and serving with a quenelle of Comté ice cream. It’s like dessert for main course, which is rarely a bad idea.

Mona’s commitment to sustainability continues with the main course of feral venison – now

One of Faro Restaurant’s latest offerings from their Nouveau Faux, Bordeaux, menu titled La Cote Normandie which features oyster tartare, oyster cream, seaweed mignonette, fumet sea pearls, daikon seaweed, martini cucumber, iceberg sea lettuce, Avruga caviar, coastal herbs, apple and crème fraîche. Picture: Jesse Hunniford/ Image courtesy Museum of Old and New Art

Tasmanian (rather than imported from the mainland), as a trial to make the meat commercially available is currently underway. Served with creamy celeriac mash spiked with miso the tender fillet is rich and flavourful and I’m more than happy to eat this problem.

Faro’s desserts are always much anticipated and this evening’s two offerings do not let us down. A classic croissant has been reimagined as ice cream paired with oh-so-French chocolate mousse, a buttery financier and glazed cinnamon spiral just begging to be snapped.

One of Faro Restaurant’s desserts from their Nouveau Faux, Bordeaux, menu – the Almond croissant – which includes brown butter financier, croissant ice cream, warm chocolate cream, amaretto anglaise, cinnamon arlette and toasted almonds. Picture: Jesse Hunniford/ Image courtesy Museum of Old and New Art

The second dessert – fraises bla bla bla – is a celebration of sweet strawberries and summer berries that contrasts the textures of soft strawberry sorbet and violet cream with a buttery crisp sable and a sheet of clear sugar “glass”. I can’t pick a favourite.

Je ne regrette rien.