Bistro Papillon, Sydney

It's easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of new restaurant openings in Sydney, but there's reward in hunting out those that don't still smell of fresh paint; restaurants that have had time to settle and get into their groove. Bistro Papillon might feels like it's been on Clarence Street forever, but in fact it only opened in 2010. Actually I take that back. In Sydney's notoriously unforgiving restaurant scene, four years is forever.


Dining room at Bistro Papillon

On a Tuesday night, the restaurant is full, a mix of families, couples and post-work dinners with friends. There's a quaint sense of Parisian escapism to the place. Framed vintage posters? Jaunty French flags? Bar shelves lined with digestifs? Tick, tick and tick. French waitstaff add to the groundswell of French accents, including co-owners chef Ludovic Geyer and front of house Xavier Huitorel. The commuter-clogged streets of Sydney CBD feel like a world away.


Escargots de Bourgogne $15
Half a dozen Burgundy snails baked in garlic and parsley butter

The dinner menu has all your favourite French dishes, like the ubiquitous escargots de bourgogne or snails baked in garlic butter. These are plump and tender morsels, the garlicky pools of butter best mopped up with torn off hunks of baguette.


Pate de foie de volaille $16
Homemade chicken liver parfait with cornichons, red capsicum and orange relish and baguette 

Homemade chicken liver parfait is on the dark side of pink, but the texture is smooth. We slather it on more baguette slices, interspersed with nibbles of cornichons, pickled onion, salad and a gooey quarter of boiled egg.


Terrine de Lapin aux Noix $18
Rabbit and walnut terrine, green apple chutney, cornichons and grilled baguette

The rabbit and walnut terrine ends up being one of my favourite starters, a door-stop of well-seasoned rabbit studded with walnuts.


Tartare de boeuf $35
Finely chopped raw grass fed beef fillet with a spicy mayonnaise and condiments served with grilled baguette, salad and french fries

We share a mains-sized beef tartare between the four of us too, a delicate pile of hand-chopped grass fed beef mixed through with chopped onions, capers and shallots. It strays a little from the usual addition - incorporating green shallots and mayonnaise - but we still polish it off anyway, as well as the handful of french fries on the side.


Cassolette de fruits de mer au chorizo $35
Mixed seafood stew with chorizo and vegetables


The mixed seafood stew is hearty and rich, generous with chunks of salmon, white fish, waxy boiled potatoes, prawns and mussels.

Confit de canard $37
Confit of duck leg with a green lentil and vegetable ragout

Although the confit of duck leg is a little on the dry side, the green lentil and vegetable ragout offers plenty of saucy assistance.


Filet de boeuf sauce bearnaise $37
Pan-fried grass fed beef fillet with bearnaise sauce, with a side of potato

If you're after something a little richer, the grass-fed beef fillet smothered in bearnaise sauce comes up trumps.


Dauphinois potato gratin included with the filet de boeuf or $6 as a side

We convince the G-man to choose the potato gratin over the mashed potato. The thick slices of potato have been baked until tender, collecting a golden crust on the surface.


Onglet de boeuf a l'echalote $35
Grilled hanger steak with burgundy and shallot sauce, served with fries and salad

I went with one of the house specialities, the grilled hanger steak served with a burgundy and shallot sauce. This tender cut of meat hangs over the diaphragm of a steer, and is said to have the most flavour. It's deliciously succulent. The burgundy sauce is tasty too, with both the steak and the fries.


Crumble aux fruits $15
Pear and prune crumble with armagnac creme anglaise

There's an impressive selection of six different sweets for dessert, as well as four different cheeses. The pear and prune crumble has succumbed to the hipster trend of serving everything in jars. We drizzle over the armagnac creme angalise over the sweet crumble on top, and dig down to the bottom to capture chunks of poached pear and prune.


Mendiant aux pomme $15
French style bread and butter pudding with maple and walnut ice cream

The bread and butter pudding is interspersed with petite slices of sweet apple, a comforting dessert made even better with creme anglaise, maple and walnut ice cream, and a piped rosette of cream.


Classic creme brulee $13

And we can't pass up the classic creme brulee. A large rink of toffee beckons us closer with our spoon.



Is there anything more satisfying than that first thwack of the spoon through the thin shell of toffee? We sink our spoons into the wobble of custard and relish its richness against the slight bitterness of toffee. I don't need to tell you we scraped the dish clean.

Bistro Papillon isn't the latest hip restaurant on the Sydney scene, but if you want to feel like you've escaped the city - without leaving the city - this is a good place to start.






Bistro Papillon
98 Clarence Street, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9262 2404

Opening hours:
Lunch Monday to Friday 12pm-3pm
Dinner Monday to Saturday 6pm-10pm


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