Bon Ap' is in our neighbourhood so it was high time we gave it a go. I feel there has been a renaissance of French cuisine in Melbourne in the last 12 months from the casual (Bon Ap') to the unusual (Oter) to the old school classic (Phillipe).
We arrived with no reservation on a Friday evening and were warmly welcomed and shown to a cosy table towards the back of the dining room next to the spiral staircase. It certainly has a French wine bar feel and I feel like I could be in Paris or on the set of Allo Allo!
We arrived with no reservation on a Friday evening and were warmly welcomed and shown to a cosy table towards the back of the dining room next to the spiral staircase. It certainly has a French wine bar feel and I feel like I could be in Paris or on the set of Allo Allo!
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We start off with:
The escargots come with the neccesary implements. The butter is rich and garlicky just how I like it but the dish is under seasoned and there's no table salt. The Toulouse sausage is much better in terms of seasoning and the jus in the dish is a flavour hit. I like the texture of the sausage which is coarse but there are some small bits of gristly cartilegey stuff in there which is not so appetising.
- Escargots in garlic butter
- Housemade Toulouse Sausage, Shallots & Armagnac
The escargots come with the neccesary implements. The butter is rich and garlicky just how I like it but the dish is under seasoned and there's no table salt. The Toulouse sausage is much better in terms of seasoning and the jus in the dish is a flavour hit. I like the texture of the sausage which is coarse but there are some small bits of gristly cartilegey stuff in there which is not so appetising.
In terms of main courses we go with:
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The chicken is a small Maryland that comes in a cute square crockpot. The trout is presented on a retro square plate. Both look quite small in size and we have debate on whether it's value for money or not. The price point is not particularly high at around $20 per main dish but the servings are not large and they don't come with sides.
Having said that, as we worked our way our dishes, I found that there was actually a decent amount of trout on my plate and the chicken is very rich with the truffle cream so it's probably the right size.
The taste I had of the chicken was good, comforting, creamy and rich. Personally I think mashed potato or even just steamed baby potatoes would have elevated this but Steve didn't have a problem using the fries to soak up the delicious sauce.
The trout I had was delicately flavoured and just on the right side of being over cooked. The brown butter wasn't brown enough for my liking and stopped just before it turns nutty so it was more melted butter. To me butter tastes good in all forms so it didn't stop me from enjoying the dish but browner butter would make it better butter! I do like a tongue twister! Like the escargots it needed a bit more seasoning but the chips were very well seasoned so I just had to mix everything up a bit.
After all that butter and cream we were too full to tackle dessert but the classic offering of tarte tatin was very appealing.
Bon Ap' is a nice local restaurant. It's not somewhere I would travel far to but I'm pretty pleased it's around and I'd like to try breakfast there too. It would also be a great place for a lunchtime charcuterie plate and accompanying wine so it's a welcome addition to Brunswick Street.
Having said that, as we worked our way our dishes, I found that there was actually a decent amount of trout on my plate and the chicken is very rich with the truffle cream so it's probably the right size.
The taste I had of the chicken was good, comforting, creamy and rich. Personally I think mashed potato or even just steamed baby potatoes would have elevated this but Steve didn't have a problem using the fries to soak up the delicious sauce.
The trout I had was delicately flavoured and just on the right side of being over cooked. The brown butter wasn't brown enough for my liking and stopped just before it turns nutty so it was more melted butter. To me butter tastes good in all forms so it didn't stop me from enjoying the dish but browner butter would make it better butter! I do like a tongue twister! Like the escargots it needed a bit more seasoning but the chips were very well seasoned so I just had to mix everything up a bit.
After all that butter and cream we were too full to tackle dessert but the classic offering of tarte tatin was very appealing.
Bon Ap' is a nice local restaurant. It's not somewhere I would travel far to but I'm pretty pleased it's around and I'd like to try breakfast there too. It would also be a great place for a lunchtime charcuterie plate and accompanying wine so it's a welcome addition to Brunswick Street.
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