Reviews
Good Food Guide 2012
September 2011
Ah the eternal seduction of the French brasserie... the flickering candles, the red velvet, the French accents, the can-can girls. Hang on, what can-can girls ? Mais ouis, there are occasional special nights involving music and dance.
La Brasserie bubbles like Champagne even without the high kicks. The steak frites with cafe de Paris butter includes enough crisp golden pommes frites to stop a gendarme in his tracks.
Philippe Valet is serious about wine, yet happy to shock a warm burgundy in ice on a muggy Sydney night, or suggest a muscat to go with the soft, almondy plum tart and cherry sorbet.
Like all brasseries, it's a good for the lone diner as it is for a crowd.
Gourmet Traveller Wine
September 2011
Philippe Valet oozes Gallic charm, as does his wine list, perfectly suited to La Brasserie's traditional bistro fare.
Regional wine maps add interest as do half bottles and magnum selections. The real action lies in the abundance of French reds. Steak frites, anyone ?
Wentworth Courier
September 2011
Bransgrove has been the executive chef at La Brasserie since it opened five years ago, and it wasn't long before he decided to pen his own cookbook.
His cookbook Bistro features recipes that have at some time featured on La Brasserie's menu.
There is escargots a la Bourguignonne - snails with parsley butter, pied de cochon - crisp snail-mousse filled pigs trotter with sauce tartare and watercress and confit de canard - crisp confit duck leg with carrot cumin puree, orange glazed Belgium endive and sauce bigarade.
But the book is aimed at the home cook, and Bransgrove said nothing was too difficult. "All the things we do here at La Brasserie aren't in cookbooks these days. That's why I decided to bring out Bistro." he said.
The Sydney Magazine
May 2011
Philippe Valet's grandfather Michel operated the much-loved Brasserie Carrere in Paris and now Philippe carries on the family tradition, welcoming guests to this Darlinghurst outpost with a decidedly French accent.
The menu is classically, democratically brasserie-style, with its steak frites, moules a la mariniere and confit de canard. There's even a chicken tagine with couscous that evokes the Moroccan restaurants in the Marais.
Desserts are a highlight, such as this soft, flagrant frangipane-style bitter almond tart filled with blood plum and served with a cherry-red sorbet ($15). The fruit may change from season to season but the tart - and the brasserie spirit - live on.
Good Living, Three of a Kind
August 2010
It comes as no surprise that this very French restaurant with brass-trimmered leather banquettes and menu-scrawled mirrors should do duck confit so well.
The Maryland joint with skin as crisp as parchment rests on a velvety pool of carrot and cumin puree made with more butter than it's wise to ask about. The caramelised orange sauce bigarade, a classic duck accompaniment, is dark and glossy, nicely balanced with port and vinegar. Braised witlof adds bitterness to complement the sweet carrot and salty duck, ensuring this dish ticks all the flavour boxes.
Daily Telegraph, Taste
July 2010
Secondary cuts and offal are both personal favourites of chef David Bransgrove and feature on Darlinghurst restaurant La Brasserie's menu several times a week.
Slow-cooked dishes are the biggest seller but David says access to some secondary cuts is impossible because he can no longer buy a whole beast. "I try to have at least three offal dishes on the menu at one time. I'm a huge fan. I like the old days when you got the whole animal." he says.
He says tripe sausage should be on every French brasserie menu, but he just can't get all the ingredients he needs for it. Otherwise, beef shin and beef cheek appear regularly. "We have a new menu coming up with pig's head, cheek and ears with choucroute garnie (the French version of sauerkraut) from the Alsace region." he says.
Good Living, Renovation
March 2010
Already an expert in French clocks, it seems former prime minister Paul Keating is also a dab hand at French restaurant colour schemes. The owner-chef of La Brasserie in Darlinghurst, Philippe Valet, says the former polie is responsible for helping shape the new look of his restaurant. "He's been a regular customer from day one and he's very interested in architecture", Valet says. "We got talking about what we were going to do and he said, "this colour would match with that" and so forth, so I asked if he wouldn't mind meeting with my interior designer".
The restaurateur says designer Anna di Napoli find it hard to believe she was talking colour schemes with the former prime minister. "He really liked what she did for the budget and had some great ideas about matching tones to give it a Parisian feel", Valet says.
Time Out Magazine
July 2009
Zut alors ! What's not to love about authentic steak-frites in Sydney ? Take a grain-fed slice of Tasman sirloin, fistfuls of more-ish French fries and slather the meat in mouthwatering heart-stopping buttery sauce café de Paris… We think your arteries will forgive you. Maybe.
Les Specialities are an equally hearty affair, from generous cuts of Black Angus, tender braised lamb shanks or reliably fresh fish of the day. Mains average $30 a dish. Not bad value when served up with consistently excellent wine advice delivered in an unassuming manner with a suitably thick accent – skip the Aussie Shiraz, bring on the Bordeaux.
Sydney Morning Herald, Good Living
June 2009
The panelled wood interior is not unlike Cafe de Flore in Paris where philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre used to down his daily bottle of Bordeaux.
At the bar, elegant couples twirl kir royales over plates of saucisson while an impassioned philosophical debate is unfolding behind the red velvet drapes to the rear.
Classic French dishes like steak frites, duck confit and souffle au fromage accompany a lengthy wine list.
Vogue Entertaining & Travel
Feb/Mar 2009
Black-and-white check tiles, luscious leather banquettes, bright red drapes and sun-dappled pavement tables combine to achieve a romantic ideal of a French bistro at La Brasserie. The menu offers many of the classic French brasserie favourites, from escargots a la Bourguignonne to confit de canard and, of course, a wide range of perfectly grilled steaks.
Owner Philippe Valet and head chef David Bransgrove regularly upgrade the menu to showcase the best produce of each season, and the cellar boasts a great range of local and imported wines.
Gourmet Traveller
Feb/Mar 2009
You only have to put your toe in the door of La Brasserie in Sydney, and you'd swear you were in France. The decor by co-owner Lionel Asseraf (pictured seated) strongly resembles that of a traditional French brasserie, and the menu is by French-trend Kiwi chef, David Bransgrove.
But what we really love about this place is its wine list. With a clientele comprising 50/50 French and Australians, it is unashamedly overweighed with well-priced French wines as Asseraf took advantage of the AUD/EUR exchange rate when it was at its best.
For example, we ordered a bottle of 2006 Lucien Muzard Champs Claude, Santenay, for around $50 less than we've seen it on other wine lists. "We have crafted a list that's affordable without compromising on quality", Asseraf says "and at the same time endeavour to introduce Australians to interesting French wines".
Qantas Inflight Magazine
July 2008
La Brasserie quietly assumed the mantle Sydney's most classically French-looking diner. It's a deep, dark room, with a bar running down one side - just the place to get into the swing of things with a cloudy Pernord Ricard, or a Kir Royal made with a crisp blanc de blanc.
The other wall is taken up with mirrors covered in specials written in lipstick. They supplement a menu as redolent of stereotypical bourgeois grand Paris as the Gaulloises being smoked on the front terrasse.
Hors d'oeuvres see the boxes ticked with panache : the souffle is double-baked gruyere with artichoke and fennel, the duck fois gras comes with toasted brioche, apple and hazelnut, and the escargots positively swim in garlic butter. Hit the steaks - tartare, barramundi, entrecote, frites, cote de boeuf or onglet - for something with a little more heft, or go all out with a plateau de fruits de mer (a collection of raw and cooked seafood) for a grand finish.
Cream
While French restaurants in Sydney are not new, the direction Valet has taken with his restaurant is. His standards are paramount.
The menu contains all the typical classics you would expect. A dozen snails served in garlic parsley butter, small in size byt big on flavour, and a perfect way to begin the evening before progressing to a divine serving of chicken liver parfait.
Desserts include a simple yet fantastic creme brulee and a fondant au chocolat - a completely unique concoction of soft dark chocolate and white coffee foam that wickedly covers your spoon.
Sydney Morning Herald, Good Living
October 2007
Let's be upfront. It's the chips that matter. Sure, you can have the usual suspects at La Brasserie: steak tartare, chicken liver parfait and garlic snails. But even Japanese chefs serve duck confit now. France, the culinary powerhouse that gave us Auguste Escoffier, is also pretty handy with a spud and La Brasserie gets its pommes frites just right. Crunchy, yet light and creamy inside. Salty, too. Yum.
A kindling of fries is piled high around the large oval plate bearing the steak frites ($26): a perfectly grilled, thick-cut 250-gram sirloin. They make a fine pair, more honest and reliable than the average election promise.