In Member Lists
Where to Find Australia’s Best Inner-City Bakeries
By Katya Wachtel
5 Items
Where to Find Australia’s Best Inner-City Bakeries
By Katya Wachtel
5 Items
My bakery founds
By Matheus
2 Items
Got a better list to share?
Armorica Grand Brasserie is a sprawling restaurant inside the former Toko site on Surry Hills’ Crown Street by Andrew Becher, the restaurateur behind Euro restaurants Parlar and Franca.
A self-confessed Francophile, Becher named the restaurant after the ancient region of north-west France that encompassed modern-day Brittany and Paris, and took inspiration from his visits to old-world establishments La Coupole and Septime.
The result is understandably elegant: a capacious 150-seat dining room with red-leather banquettes, brass gantries, timber ceilings and solid-oak joinery. As in all of Becher’s restaurants, art plays a big role here. He’s commissioned five artworks by American illustrator David Plunkert, and Eagle-eyed New Yorker readers will recognise his style from his famed cover responding to far-right violence in Charlottesville in 2017.
Executive chef José Saulog’s sizeable menu starts with cold dishes: foie gras; octopus roulade (a mandatory order); and an opulent seafood tower piled high with oysters, a prawn cocktail, coral trout carpaccio and South Australian rock lobster. Pastas are made in-house – the spaghetti with scampi, Moreton Bay bug meat and zucchini trifolati is a standout.
Larger dishes are all cooked over ironbark on a custom-made, five-metre-long Josper grill brought in from Spain. Australian seafood is a focus, and diners can expect locally-caught Murray cod, John Dory, coral trout and more. Plus, five different steak frites options including Jack’s Creek grain-fed Black Angus sirloin, grain-finished Black Angus (marble score 3+) and David Blackmore full-blood Wagyu Scotch fillet (marble score 9+), all served with a choice of bone-marrow butter, béarnaise or mushroom sauce.
Executive pastry chef Travin De Hoedt has created five desserts: crème caramel; clafoutis; a tarte du jour; and a chocolate bar made from Valrhona chocolate mousse, salted caramel and choc-chip cookie, and sealed with Armorica branding.
While the menu leans luxe – an Armorica-branded caviar is made and sold in-house – the prices are lower than at both Franca and Parlar.
We do not seek or accept payment from the cafes, restaurants, bars and shops listed in the Directory – inclusion is at our discretion. Venue profiles are written by independent freelancers paid by Broadsheet.
Gift the experience of Australia's
best restaurants, cafes and bars
19 Jul 2023
18 Jul 2023
17 Jul 2023
17 Jul 2023
Gift the experience of Australia's
best restaurants, cafes and bars