bistro papillon

great ambiance combined with sophisticated retro french tunes in the background. amazing waitering service. the guy was super helpful and added a couple of suggestions here and there. amazing french food - the entree escargot is a must! overall, would go again!

fantastic little place with lovely food and staff. totally recommend!!!! new menu and warm cosy setting. very traditional food with extensive wine selection

traditional french cuisine together with friendly and attentive service made for a most enjoyable evening. my tarte flambee entree was delicious and the steak mains was cook as requested and was beautifully tender. tarte tartin for dessert was equally as enjoyable. a small but reasonably priced french wine list is a pleasant surprise and our wine, chateau donjon, was excellent. i have wanted to eat at bistro papillon for quite a while and can say it was worth the wait and will most definitely return.

really nice cozy little french restaurant in the cbd. went here for the soirée raclette night and had an amazing time!

the escargot was great, loved the palate cleanser that had a nice kick to it and the raclette was awesome... no way you can go wrong with meat topped off with a layer of golden molten grilled stretchy cheese.

will definitely be back again to try the other items on the menu!

great service, good food and wine. would recommend to anyone who enjoys more traditional french cuisine at a great price. will definitely be back!

a lovely night in bistro papillon! such an elaborately deco cozy french restaurant with about 10 tables, a bar and a semi-open kitchen.  the staffs were excellent and we felt pretty much taken care of. he help us chose beaujolais, which is very light and nice, and kindly gave us helpful recommendations during order.

we had the beef tartare, garlic butter snail and the only two fresh oysters left in the kitchen(so sad, we will can have more! ). all the entrees tasted very nice, compared to the rabbit, today's special, we ordered for the main. the rabbit was well cooked, but lack of characters to catch your flavor, too ordinary and will not think about it again when you came back home.

for the dessert, the brulee was quite a shock at the first taste in my mouth and i immediately fall for it. it is a must have.

overall, bistro papillon is a place i'll go for many times when i stay in sydney. not to mention the raclette night i'm very much looking forward to.

excellent place for a date on weekends. it was always full of people these recent days, but the food is comforting and even have a blanket for sitting outside! recommend redroot ravioli!

this is a very nice restaurant for great french dining experience. be prepared to splurge but the food is definitely worth it! for starters, definitely order the snails drenched in garlic and parsley butter. for mains, i recommend the fresh egg tagliatelle pasta with seafood or the creamy veal ragout with fresh pasta. for dessert, the simple classic creme brûlée is the way to go. the service staff are very friendly and professional. just be sure to make a reservation beforehand!

cosy french food. went the full three course here for dinner. tried a tart flambee which was ok. confit of duck was great and ended with fantastic dessert of the hazelnut ice cream with some cheese as well. great atmosphere and was able to practise some french with our waitress. a little gem in the cbd.

incredible french cuisine. fantastic food & dessert and excellent customer service. i was very impressed and will definitely return the next time i visit sydney.

comme ci comme ca... maybe that not an accurate reflection but it's the limitation of my french and pretty close to what i thought. maybe my expectations were high (thanks to a 94% urbanspoon rating) but i didn't think it warranted such lofty heights. service was attentive and efficient, venue was small but intimate, and the meals were traditional and satisfying, but just didn't pump my tyres. i introduce my man-date to snails for entree and his skwirmishness provided a few laughs but butter/garlic/herbs was largely all that hit the palate. the pancetta-wrapped quail was nice, as was the french syrah but again left me a little wanting. for a similar price and location i'd bypass this one and go straight to pendilino or de vine. merci and bon soir!

what works:
ambience.
service is professional, courteous, attentive.
food is lovely. homemade chicken liver pate is highly recommended. mussels in white wine sauce is really nicely cooked through and the broth is sweet and light so you can taste the mussels in it. duck confit, homemade pork sausages, slow cooked lamb are also worth trying. the cooking is lovely as flavours of ingredients are cleverly brought out.
wine list is not huge but has choices of rare european boutiques. knowledge of all staff on food and wine is great. they're able to recommend the right boutique wine for the food you've ordered and educate you in the process. a big plus!
desserts - must try classic creme brûlée and the rum and raisin ice cream. gosh it's the best rum and raisin i've ever had!

what doesn't:
n/a. nothing yet.

overall: i really liked bistro papillon, have been there twice (weekday lunch and weekend dinner) and it hadn't disappointed. it's an ambient and cosy venue that is authentically french... a nice find in the cbd. will definitely be back again.

great food, but no tact.. we enjoyed a great meal with good friends and sipped on two bottles of saint emillion bordeaux blend when the waiter abruptly told us that we have twenty minutes left which is not enough time to order desert and that we should go. nice way to ended what could have been my favorite dining experience in some time.

wonderful experience with excellent service and a cosy ambience. found the duck pasta very overpriced. however we really liked the appetizers.

traditional and cozy vibe. food was perfect in terms of presentation and taste. was only sad that i didn’t have anymore space in my stomach to try everything else ! definitely will have to go there again