The Five Best Places to Eat French in Brisbane

With summer just around the corner, many Brisbanites are looking for ways to adopt healthier eating habits hoping to shed those kilos that always magically appear over the cooler months. Usually one might want to focus on carbohydrate intake and counting calories to accomplish this, but if you eat la manière française*, you may not have to worry about these things. Instead, you can focus on enjoying your food and savouring the flavour until you feel full.

*To eat the ‘French way’ is to eat what you wish, but in moderation. Here are Concrete Playground’s top 5 spots for embracing the French eating style.

C'est Bon

At C'est Bon you literally feel like you are dining in Paris. The ambiance, the decor, the size of the restaurant, not to mention the sublime service just makes dining here parfait! The head chef, the hostess, and the wait staff are all French, so you feel like you are in good hands. They serve escargot (6 servings for $17 and 12 servings for $34) as an entree and the souffle au chocolat ($16) is served nice and hot. For the main we recommend the canard à l’orange ($37), crispy organic free range duck, twice cooked in the oven, served with an orange and Grand Marnier sauce with creamy sweet potatoes and braised red cabbage. C'est Bon does lunch on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and dinner on Tuesday to Saturday.

609 Stanley St, Woolloongabba; 07 3891 2008; www.cestbon.com.au/brisbane

Le Bon Choix

Located on the corner of Eagle and Queen Streets, Le Bon Choix is the perfect place for a lunch out of the office. The staff here are French and friendly and patrons are always greeted with a bright smile and a cheerful “bonjour!” There is a pyramid of macarons with flavours ranging from coffee, blueberry, orange, lemon, strawberry, pistachio and chocolate. Lunch choices are aplenty with baguettes, quiches, and sinful pastries on offer. For dessert there are beautifully decorated cakes such as the Miroula ($7 each). Patrons can take a seat or make their colleagues jealous by taking their meal back to the office.

379 Queen Street, Brisbane; 07 3229 9260; www.lebonchoixbakery.com.au

French Martini

Tucked away along Little Stanley Street in South Bank, this restaurant has many dishes to cater to your three course meal. For example, for the starter course you can have the Camembert Rôti au Pistou et Pain Grille ($15), a toasted baguette with camembert baked in the oven with pesto or you can have a nice Soup du Jour ($9). Then you can have the fillet de poisson du jour sauce au beurre blanc ($21; the fish of the day served with a white wine and butter sauce) with a glass of Pinot Blanc ($12 glass or $59 bottle). Their crème brulee ($10) is a good choice for dessert. As for seating options you can either sit inside beside the bar or outside on Little Stanley Street.

Little Stanley Street, South Bank, Brisbane. 07 3844 5541 www.frenchmartini.com.au

Piaf Bistro

Situated on a corner in Southbank, Piaf Bistro is good spot to escape the business of Grey Street at any time of the day. This cafe has its own bar with an extensive wine list, where you can order a Petit Chablis wine ($12 glass or $55 a bottle) or a Bordeaux ($12 glass or $55 a bottle). As for seating options and overall dining experience, you can either choose to sit at the bar and socialise with your friends over some wine, share a meal inside or get some fresh air outside. Open from 7am until late, seven days a week, Piaf Cafe does breakfast, lunch and dinner.

5/182 Grey Street, Southbank; 07 3846 5026; www.piafbistro.com.au

French Twist

Located down a small alley on Melbourne Street in South Brisbane, French Twist is a great cafe to grab a coffee and a French treat. The decor is gorgeous as is the artistic way in which they present their baked goods. You can spend all day looking at the bread in the front window. Sit and enjoy a light snack like toast with ham and mustard, or the granola with yoghurt and berries.

104 Melbourne St, South Brisbane; 07 3217 2366