bistro papillon

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

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 frenchwinelist 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.

what works:
ambience.
service is professional, courteous, attentive.
food is lovely. homemade chicken liver pate is highly recommended. mussels in whitewinesauce 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 andwineis great. they're able to recommend the right boutiquewinefor 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.

a small but good restaurant that serves tasty french food. i can't comment on authenticity but i don't expect it to be 100% authentic, what maters to me are quality ingredients that are always well prepared.
the steak tartare is excellent and is by far my favourite dish. the menu includes many other standout dishes that keep us coming back. they also have a decentwinelist and make god cocktails.
the only downside is that it can get a bit noisy

traditional, simple and just yum. love the bread that came out with the escargot and pate, warm and crusty.

ambience was comfortable, quiet with dim lighting. a perfect place for small group of friends to enjoy some quality food,wineand conversations.

service was good, attentive and friendly.

really enjoyed my night here.

quaint little french restaurant in the heart of the cbd, with an impressivewinemenu and a good range of food choices. the venue feels like a parisian cafe and would be good for an informal dinner.

if french food is your jam then bistro papillon is your digs. wonderfully bohemian mid 20th century french in design and atmosphere with traditional food that impresses as much as the waitstaff. i will be returning to this place for more of the decadent cuisine all washed down with even more frenchwineand martinis.
full review is now up on spooning australia.

this would be no brainer for me.
great services. warm ambience. classic and delicious french dishes. thewinethey recommended was good. we will try dessert next time.

the service was friendly and attentive.
other than that, not much to recommend.
snail was average, sausage was more than ordinary, beef was tender and the redwinesauce was tasty, but for a main course, really tiny portion.
atmosphere was more than ordinary.
it is a french restaurant indeed, and also it is very much overpriced indeed.
nothing special about the food. and it took a century to come. especially for the beef, which was pre made as in slow cooked, such a long wait when the restaurant was not even half full.

was craving for some french food for a mate's birthday and it turned out so much better than expected! it's a small shop, with dim lightings, so it could look a little dodgy from the outside. got in and felt very welcomed by the french wait staff (authenticity right there). for entrees, we got escargots, mussels, and a flat bread with gruyere cheese (which was my fav amongst the three, don't judge too quick!). after which, the pork medallion and beef bourguignon for mains and creme brûlée for dessert. they were absolutely delightful. i can't stress how much i love the flavors of the dishes. oh, don't be too tight on your pocket and just go for a bottle ofwine- you wouldn't regret paying for a good french wine! will be back!

dissapointing! came recommended but didnt delivered on my expectations, especially their mains didnt do much on flavour or portions for the top $ that you pay. we ended up spending $180 for 2 people for 1 entre, 2 mains, some baguette and 2 glasses ofwineand still left hungry.
on the upside, service was very attentive and friendly.

we came for the raclette soirée. it was everything i hoped it would be. the entrees to start were great. we had the tarte flambé and the snails. the tarte was scrumptious and filled with delicious french ham and caramelised onions. the snails were buttery little morsels that you can pop easily in your mouth. then came the main course - delicious melted raclette cheese with a generous platter of potatoes, meats, onion and pickles. it was decadent and very filling. it was sad that i could not continue to eat the amazing cheese once my tummy reached its limit. i would also recommend taking the pairedwinewith the meal which was very light and refreshing with the heavy meal. i don't think many people would be able to take dessert after this meal, but we will be sure to try it next time.

escargot in garlic n parsley 3/5, plump buttery snails, perfect to tickle your appetite. use the bread to mop up the gravy pls.

beef tartar w mayo 3.5/5, diced a little 'chunkier' than normal provided good texture, the onion parsley mustard mayo etc were not overwhelming, allowing one to enjoy the beef.

onion soup 3/5, served piping hot w enough consistency n flavour in the broth.

salad nicoise w smoked trout 4/5, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, olives, boiled egg n mustard dressing. my firm fav. fish, potatoes n eggs served warm, all 3 elements perfectly cooked. again the amount of dressing was just right n not overpowering the salad. yolk was on the cusp of being set. a simple elegantly executed dish.

risotto w chicken 3/5, give me hokkien fried rice instead of risotto any day really. to be fair, risotto was cooked on point, not too mushy nor too grainy. broth absorbed properly. a sprinkle of black pepper n parmesan, you are good to go.

duck confit w bean cassoulet n bordelaise sauce 3.25/5, cant do french without duck confit. a slight deviation from the usual french duck confit standing proud among hash/mash n some veg, this one had traditional humble bean cassoulet (minus the sausage/bacon) lending it support, neutralizing the salt n fat with its stew.

charcuterie, chicken pate, smoked ham, shredded duck pate, saucisson salami 3.75/5. another fav of mine, it was on the special board so not on their dinner menu. the pate is to die for.

rabbit casserole w whitewinemustard carrots cream mushroom w a side of butter pasta 1.75/5, too much butter, dry rabbit, way too heavy n creamy n the pasta simply worsened the experience. might have worked with a strong dry red, which we did not order.

creme brulee 2.75/5, tasted fine but was cold. candle was a nice touch for the bday girl. kudos to them for remembering as it was mentioned a week before at the time of reservation.

service was friendly, attentive but unobtrusive. a noisy intimate venue but a well managed floor. we finished off w a digestif degustation (recommended).

like many restaurants and cafes, service was excellent. the gratin and creme brûlée were well above average and wonderfully made. as for the coq au vin, the sauce/broth was just right. the redwinewas neither overwhelming nor left a bitter aftertaste. however, the chef might consider leaving the chicken in the broth or sauce for 20-30 minutes longer or adding some baking soda so that the chicken meat was not too dry. nonetheless, it was still above average.

this surprisingly authentic french restaurant in the sydney cbd is easy to miss if you're not paying attention. in short, this is one of the better restaurants in this part of town that delivers quality in service, atmosphere and flavour that can trick you into thinking you're not dining in a concrete jungle.

first, the choice of entrees and mains (and specials) made ordering a most arduous task, because i can honestly say that i could easily have chosen any of the menu items (based on the descriptions, with the aid of visual confirmation after getting a peek at the meals of other diners).

i ordered the slow cooked beef in a redwinebroth with mushrooms and carrots. this humble but tasty dish was tender, delicious and hearty, with the homemade alsace-style spätzle a really nice touch. this i used towards the end of the meal to soak up my remaining sauce.

this was washed down with a kronenbourg, largely because it was a wet but muggy sydney evening. i'll return here another time i'm in sydney to sample the other dishes, particularly as i refrained from partaking in ordering the very tempting profiteroles for dessert...