The archetypal French bistrot is so popular in Sydney that many of them can be considered cornerstones of the city’s hospitality industry.
With a style of cookery that everybody already knows and loves, catering to a wide range of different palates (pour one out for your dairy and sugar-averse buddies) small wonder that French restaurants appear to be opening every other day in the Harbour City.
From venerable establishments like Restaurant Hubert to newer, less centrally located gems in the mould of Charlotte Bar & Bistro, here are all of our favourite Sydney restaurants specialising in the cuisine of la République (so far) this year.
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Jump To:
- Our Favourite French Restaurants In Sydney
- Bistro Moncur, Woollahra
- Charlotte Bar & Bistro, McMahons Point
- Bistro Rex, Potts Point
- Restaurant Hubert, Sydney CBD
- L’Heritage, Chowder Bay
- Bouillon L’Entrecôte, Circular Quay
- Metisse, Potts Points
- Loulou, Milsons Point
- Chez Maurice Et Linda, Balgowlah
- Felix, Sydney CBD
- Bistro Nido, Sydney CBD
- Bistrot 916, Potts Point
- Franca Brasserie, Potts Point
- Macleay St Bistro, Potts Point
- The Charles Brasserie & Bar, Sydney CBD
- Armorica Grand Brasserie, Surry Hills
- Porcine, Paddington
- Gavroche, Chippendale
- Bistro Papillon, Sydney CBD
- Bistro St Jacques, Redfern
Our Favourite French Restaurants In Sydney
Bistro Moncur, Woollahra
There are probably only a very small handful of French restaurants in Sydney as well-known and revered as Bistro Moncur. Adjoining the Woollahra hotel, with an interior aesthetic that sits somewhere between a disco and pleasure vessel, Bistro Moncur has been delighting locals since 1993.
Since then, the venue’s culinary program has kept apace with the times; though we’d be remiss — particularly for first-time visitors — not to recommend the most traditional bistrot plates. The restaurant’s spanner crab omelette (a cloud-like concoction of freshly picked crabmeat and buttery organic eggs) is reason enough to warrant a visit; while the fillet steak with béarnaise is among the best iterations we’ve tasted in the Eastern Suburbs.
In a refreshing departure from many similarly fine eateries in nearby Woollahra and Double Bay, Moncur’s wine list emphasises a qualitative approach. At 12 pages in total, it’s relatively easy to navigate and a clear effort has been made to ensure food-friendliness at every turn.
This Fall, if you’re looking for ways to elevate your usual Sunday roast manoeuvre, we’d recommend heading in for the $45 rosbif. Now who says you can’t get a real deal on a meal in the East?
Address: 116A Queen St, Woollahra NSW 2025
Contact: (02) 9327 9713
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday (12 PM — 9 PM)
Charlotte Bar & Bistro, McMahons Point
One of the newer additions to our list that opened up in late 2023, Charlotte Bar & Bistro adds a dose of picturesque French cuisine to the F&B community in Sydney’s Lower North Shore. With waterfront views, set at the edge of McMahons Point, this very upscale all-day establishment comes to diners from the same group behind Choji Yakiniku.
That’s a very salient observation to make when one considers the identity of Charlotte’s Executive Chef, Hiroshi Manaka — a Tokyo-born, Michelin-trained gastronaut, whose fused culinary chops announce themselves in morsels like escargot gyoza ($15) or a fricassee of chicken ribs ($25).
Signature dishes like the decadent lamb en-croûte (only available by preorder) make it easy to push the boat out here; but equally, Manaka and his team always put together a killer lunch set. At under $100, with regular changeups in the menu, we can think of few places on the North Side that are better for a cheeky (read: long) client lunch.
Address: 139 Blues Point Rd, McMahons Point NSW 2060
Contact: (02) 8313 2690
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Thursday (5 PM — 11:30 PM); Friday (12 PM — 3 PM, 5 PM — 11:30 PM); Saturday (12 PM — 3 PM, 5 PM — 12 AM); Sunday (12 PM — 3 PM, 5 PM — 10 PM).
Bistro Rex, Potts Point
Here’s a legend that should be at the top of your list when searching for Sydney’s finest French. Bistro Rex is one of the most reliable restaurants in Sydney, constantly and rightfully showered with praise from discerning diners – many who can’t bear to stray from the go-to dish, a simple 220g steak frites with Café de Paris butter, best preceded by some French onion soup.
And look, it’s perfectly understandable to stick to this one signature at Bistro Rex, but you’d be missing out if you didn’t explore more from the kitchen’s trim and beautifully executed menu. Some other standouts: a twice-baked cantal cheese soufflé, those highly indulgent lobster mac & cheese spring rolls and the Spanish-influenced grilled octopus wisely served with preserved lemon potato crisp and pill pill.
It’s all French classics done well at this Potts Point French restaurant, with a bit of a shot at modern French cuisine.
Address: 50 Macleay St, Potts Point NSW 2011
Contact: (02) 9332 2100
Opening Hours: Monday to Wednesday (5:30 PM — 8:30 PM); Thursday (5:30 PM — 9 PM); Friday to Saturday (12 PM — 3 PM, 5:30 PM — 10 PM); Sunday (12 PM — 3 PM, 5:30 PM — 7:30 PM)
Restaurant Hubert, Sydney CBD
You simply haven’t done Sydney dining properly if you’ve never wandered down that lavish staircase and blanketed yourself in the old-world glitz and glamour of Restaurant Hubert.
Nodding heavily to the post-war French bistros that are dotted all through Paris, Restaurant Hubert stands as a reference point for Sydney hospitality.
The venue is from the same team behind stalwarts like Alberto’s and Shady Pines, gleaming with a similar world-renown thanks for its jazzy atmosphere and dishes like classic chicken fricassée served with a rich bread sauce, the dependable steak du Jour, and the unfailing prime beef wagyu tartare.
Bring your appetite and a sense of romance, because all these years later Restaurant Hubert is still unlike anything Sydney’s veracious dining scene has ever seen.
A top tip for casual diners would be to skip the dining room altogether and head straight for the adjoining Bar Pincer, where classic cocktails go down well with the signature Normandy burger — a brioche bun with 1 grilled dry aged beef patty, melted gruyere cheese, a house-made tangy sauce, with frites and a pickle on the side. It’s one of the best burgers in Sydney.
Address: 15 Bligh St, Sydney
Contact: (02) 9232 0881
Opening Hours: Monday to Wednesday (5 PM — 12 AM); Thursday (12 PM — 12 AM); Friday to Saturday (12 PM — 12: 30 AM)
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L’Heritage, Chowder Bay
L’Heritage may be relatively new and still largely under the radar, but this cosy harbourside venue is putting up some strong competition for Sydney’s favourite French restaurant.
A heritage 1980s Army Drill Hall in Mosman’s Chowder Bay has been zhuzhed into an intimate restaurant that couldn’t be more perfect for a special occasion or date night. Considering it’s the same owners of Mosman’s favourite French café — simply named Frenchy’s Café — the historic space now feels homely and incredibly welcoming.
That romantic French atmosphere spills over to the classically-minded food on offer, paired with elegant French wines that prioritise structure and dishes like a signature bouillabaisse loaded with mussels, prawns, salmon, pink ling, potatoes, croutons and very rich saffron aioli.
Address: 7b Chowder Bay Rd, Mosman NSW 2088
Contact: (02) 9968 1658
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sunday (10 AM — 10 PM)
Bouillon L’Entrecôte, Circular Quay
As one of the newer entries for your admirable journey aimed at finding the best French restaurant Sydney has to offer, Bouillon L’Entrecôte has a lot of work to do. Fortunately, the fine-casual restaurant, fast becoming known for its impeccably speedy and personal service coupled with incredible food and wine, is more than up to the task.
Located down at the new Quay Quarter Lanes precinct at Circular Quay, Bouillon L’Entrecôte confidently serves up the kind of feast lovers of fine French food can’t get enough of — think seared scallops with foie gras mousse and onion jam served on a delicate pastry, warm crab meat with mushroom duxelle and lobster bisque and of course some Burgundy snails served in the shell.
Address: 6 Loftus St, Sydney NSW 2000
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday (11:30 AM — 3 PM, 5:30 PM — 11 PM)
Metisse, Potts Points
If you’re eager to swap the traditional “bistro”-style options out for a bit of pageantry and flair, a decadent degustation-only evening at Metisse is your saving grace in Potts Point. Owner and Chef, Opel Khan, has leant into both classically French Avant-garde gastronomic techniques and his childhood memories of spices & salts to create two menu options that comfortably fit into the fine dining category.
Between the ‘Luxury’ & ‘Petit’ menus, the former with matching wines (premium selection, if you’re really pushing the boat out) is the only way to go to best appreciate Khan’s meticulous and charismatic approach to each dish.
The mosaique, in particular, is both a visual and culinary standout that you’ll undoubtedly enjoy as much as we did – an impressively technical plating of bluefin tuna, ocean trout, kingfish, and beurre noisette. You have to see this dish in the flesh (or on the Metisse website’s homepage) to truly admire the craft that’s gone into it.
And of course, no French restaurant, bistro or not, is complete without a memorable cut of beef that you’re still salivating from the thought of the next morning. Hat tip to the 6+ score wagyu accompanied by a salt celeriac tart and fermented daikon. Near-impeccable.
Address: 5-9 Roslyn Street Potts Point, NSW 2011
Contact: (02) 8590 7698
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday (5:30 PM until late)
Loulou, Milsons Point
Milson’s Point has needed this kind of destination restaurant for a very long time, with the harbourside suburb always fairly lacking when it comes to great dining options in Sydney. Loulou has swopped in and raised the standards immensely, acting as the ultimate bastion of all-day French dining with a Bistro, Boulangerie & Traiteur all-in-one approach.
By day, you’ve got the boulangerie serving up typical French bakery classics while later in the day the French bistro-inspired menu comes out with instant hits like rotisserie chicken with sauce colbert and octopus a la piperade.
Address: 61 Lavender St, Milsons Point NSW 2061
Contact: (02) 8090 3513
Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday (12 PM — 11 PM); Friday to Saturday (12 PM — 12 AM); Sunday (12 PM — 10 PM)
Chez Maurice Et Linda, Balgowlah
Not too many people seem to know about this Balgowlah icon, so consider Chez Maurice et Linda somewhat of a well-kept secret.
Those who do know it are fiercely loyal to the icon of French traditionalism, which focuses on classics done exceptionally well.
Start a French feast at Chez Maurice with some of that deep-fried camembert served with raspberry sauce, a few of those snails with garlic butter, and the scallops in mornay sauce baked with cheese.
You could almost get away with skipping mains entirely, but be sure to save stomach space for that black pepper steak or the signature braised duck in a rich, deep and addictive orange and Grand Marnier sauce.
Address: 292 Sydney Rd, Balgowlah NSW 2093
Contact: (02) 9949 4155
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday (5:30 PM — 10 PM)
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Felix, Sydney CBD
Merivale has hit the nail on the head with Felix, adding a dominant modern French restaurant to their stable of flavours and working it so this ostentatious bistro is regularly referred to as one of the hospitality empire’s most valuable players.
From the dedicated fresh seafood bar to the seemingly endless glowing shelves packed with wine bottles, just walking into the venue and basking in its magnifique ambience under impressive French imported chandeliers is an experience.
That much is obvious even before you sit down to a feast, built with côte de boeuf, caviar, twice-baked Gruyère soufflé, and – if you’re splashing that night – whole rock lobster.
Follow that up with a visit next door to Felix’s sister venue, a Parisian-influenced cocktail bar simply named Little Felix. And while the French bistro food at Little Felix can be a bit hit or miss, the bar’s bigger brother is most definitely keeping the ivy precinct standards nice and high.
Address: 2 Ash St, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: (02) 9114 7303
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday (12 PM — 10:30 PM); Saturday (5:30 PM — 10:30 PM)
Bistro Nido, Sydney CBD
Located in the storefront previously occupied by Cedric’s (Taiyo Shima’s ingenious café-slash-speakeasy), Bistro Nido is a similarly low-key operation, straddling the line between French and Japanese — two national cuisines that are hardly strange bedfellows.
Appropriately, in the spirit of fraternité, this fusion French restaurant’s coffee is supplied by Stitch; while the cocktail program has been chiefly designed by award-winning Taiwanese mixologist Wen Wu (formerly of Maybe Sammy).
As for the food menu? In brief: so tasty you won’t even mind the compact dining room and Nido’s general lack of capacity. Yes, the lion’s share of preparations are quintessentially French, but they’re given intriguing texture through loads of unexpected Japanese ingredients.
For a crash course, try the pork jowl brochette ($22): cooked at Nido over a charcoal-fired grill, with a condiment of sansho paste that wouldn’t look out of place at your local yakitori joint. Alternatively, for something a bit more explicitly Continental, the house’s eponymous cheeseburger ($25) makes for the ultimate cheat lunch. Skip the espresso in lieu of a classic Sazerac, and you’re off to the races.
Address: Shop 1007/501 George St, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: (02) 9283 9762
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Saturday (12 PM — 3 PM, 5 PM — 8:30 PM); Sunday (11 AM — 3:30 PM)
Bistrot 916, Potts Point
Bistrot 916 was one of the hottest new restaurant openings of 2021 and continues to be one of the hottest tickets in town. That’s no surprise considering the superstar team behind it.
Helmed by Head Chef Dan Pepperell, the unfailing culinary mastermind of 10 William Street and Restaurant Hubert fame, Bistrot 916 is a smooth slide over to the more coastal dishes of classic French cooking.
While you’ll still get those lamb brains (with smoked eel mayonnaise) and plates of garlicky escargot on the table, what you’ll really want to do here is prime your palate for a seafood medley of South American-influenced scallop ceviche, tuna tartare with beef fat fried potatoes, and lobster frites, all popping with colour against those candy pink table cloths.
It’s not traditional, but much like the team’s Pellegrino 2000 — now one of the best Italian restaurants in Surry Hills — the goal here is to take classic French techniques and forge them down a new path while still sticking true to what makes this cuisine so beloved in Australia.
Address: 22 Challis Ave, Potts Point NSW 2011
Contact: (02) 9167 6667
Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday (5 PM — 12 AM); Friday to Saturday (12 PM — 3 PM, 5 PM — 12 AM); Sunday (12 PM — 3 PM, 5 PM — 12 AM)
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Franca Brasserie, Potts Point
You can’t have a “best French restaurants in Sydney” round-up without giving a nice little nod to the stalwart Franca Brasserie. Although Macleay Street is teeming with some very fine French restaurants like Bistro Rex and Macleay St Bistro, it’d be foolish to overlook Franca which is still fairly fresh having opened in the former Fratelli Fresh spot in 2019.
The contemporary brasserie is all light and breezy when it comes to the vibe and the food is similarly coastal in its approach with highlights like pickled octopus with ajo blanco and whole western rock lobster next to other highlights like the lunch-only Franca Wagyu Burger with gruyere and French fries.
Address: Shop 2/81 Macleay St, Potts Point NSW 2011
Contact: (02) 9167 2921
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Thursday (5:30 PM — 12 AM); Friday to Saturday (12 PM — 12 AM); Sunday (12 PM — 10 PM)
Macleay St Bistro, Potts Point
Bistro Rex and Franca aren’t the only Potts Pott French restaurants that sit deep in the hearts of Sydney’s Francophile diners.
Macleay St Bistro is another eatery with a lot of staying power sitting behind it, serving up some fine French food that runs through some of the country’s finest provinces. Start with the twice-baked French onion soufflé and soak up all that truffle butter, before diving into other favourites like the garlic prawns with a chilli bisque, and the show-stopping main of steak frites with baby rocket and green pear salad.
Macleay St Bistro also serves up some of the best French desserts in Sydney, like a signature creme brûlée and a dark chocolate fondant with a white chocolate centre and raspberry sorbet.
Address: 73A Macleay St, Potts Point NSW 2011
Contact: (02) 9258 4891
Opening Hours: Monday to Tuesday (12:30 PM — 3:30 PM, 5:30 PM — 10:30 PM); Wednesday (5:30 PM — 10:30 PM); Thursday to Sunday (12:30 PM — 3:30 PM, 5:30 PM — 10:30 PM)
The Charles Brasserie & Bar, Sydney CBD
Despite a famously uneven start to service when it opened in late 2022, The Charles Brasserie & Bar has since become a favourite of Sydney’s CBD-based crowd over the intervening two years.
Between the café-style long bar, located in a space adjoining the main reception, and the gilded Art-Deco dining room, it’s as if this venue was tailormade for the delightfully extra power lunch (bonus points if work’s shouting).
Executive Chef Billy Hannigan’s menu is replete with classic bistro fare, gussied up with a dose of exuberant attitude: from share-friendly spatchcock pithivier to a literal trolley-load of desserts that is wheeled out for the pleasure of your assembled dining party. On the latter front, we’ve only got three words for you: “Russian honey cake”.
Address: 66 King Street, Sydney NSW 2010
Contact: (02) 9145 8066
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday (10 AM — 11:30 PM); Saturday (12 PM — 12 PM)
Armorica Grand Brasserie, Surry Hills
Known for its encyclopedic wine list and multi-million-dollar fit-out, Armorica has become a lynchpin of Crown Street’s buzzy bar & restaurant scene, since it arrived in Surry Hills in 2023.
From the same group behind the similarly Continental-skewing restaurants of Franca and Parlar, Armorica’s wheelhouse is made up of bistro-inspired sharing plates — think dry-aged proteins cooked on the restaurant’s Josper grill or leviathan seafood towers — washed down with a selection of New and Old World wines, plus signature cocktails.
For a shot of much-needed joie de vivre, we’d recommend securing a Friday dinner booking: when Armorica’s buzzy, curvaceous dining room is filled with the sounds of live jazz & blues. Performances are held every Friday, commencing at 9pm. A very stylish way to wave hello to the weekend.
Address: Shop 1 & 2/490 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Contact: (02) 9145 2990
Opening Hours: Monday to Tuesday (5 PM — 11 PM); Wednesday to Thursday (12 PM — 11 PM); Friday — Saturday (12 PM — 12 AM); Sunday (12 PM — 10 PM)
Porcine, Paddington
Another favourite of the Sydney French restaurant scene, Porcine has kept a steady stream of regulars since it opened in 2021: owing to its classic regional dishes and well-adjudged list of wines (more on that in a moment).
The fully functional fireplace and plethora of weathered timber furnishings are an ideal backdrop for Porcine’s style of cookery: heavy on regional farmhouse preparations and snout-to-tail produce. (For a truly old-school feed, consider preordering the canard à la presse.)
You’ll find Porcine above P&V Paddington, which hosts a selection of wine as deep and adventurous as its bigger sibling shop in Newtown. Happily, anything you pick up here may be drunk upstairs at a flat fee of $25 — a boon in the era of Australia’s latest cost of living crisis.
Address: 268 Oxford St, Paddington NSW 2021
Contact: 0423 015 032
Opening Hours: Thursday to Friday (6 PM — 11 PM); Saturday (12 PM — 4 PM, 6 PM — 11 PM); Sunday (12 PM — 4 PM)
Gavroche, Chippendale
Gavroche is a love letter to the French bistro. Much like some of the more traditional restaurants on this list, it’s a romantic perspective on the stubbornness of French food and a statement that the cuisine is best left untouched by modern tastes.
Through that lens, Gavroche is being a bit ambitious, aiming to muscle through more established French restaurants by doing things that are really not that unique. But the normalcy is still incredibly likeable, maintaining the status quo with classic French dishes geared towards comfort food using quality ingredients.
Address: Level 1/2-10 Kensington St, Chippendale NSW 2008
Contact: (02) 9281 6668
Opening Hours: Monday (5 PM — 9 PM); Wednesday to Thursday (5 PM — 9 PM); Friday to Saturday (12 PM — 3 PM, 5 PM — 9:30 PM)
Bistro Papillon, Sydney CBD
If you want to stick close to the CBD, head on over to Bistro Papillon on Clarence Street. Just make sure you leave any semblance of a diet at the entrance because you’ll be loading up on cheese all night.
If you want raclette, this is where you want to be. The famed French cheese is served hot and melted, with potatoes, Paris ham, coppa, bresaola, salami, and pickles. Your stomach may check out at that point, but you’ll be doing your palate a disservice if you don’t back the indulgence up with a bouillabaisse-style seafood stew, flavoured with barramundi, mussels, prawns, fennel, potatoes, and French aioli croutons.
Address: 98 Clarence St, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: (02) 9262 2402
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Friday (12 PM — 3 PM, 6 PM — 10 PM); Saturday (6 PM — 10 PM)
Bistro St Jacques, Redfern
Yet another ode to the neighbourhood French bistro, this Redfern favourite is nothing if not obscenely consistent.
Bistro St Jaques manages to stand apart from its peers by offering a very affordable vegan set menu. Although if your stomach responds more to a carnivorous diet, you’ll want to be getting your mouth all around that gorgeous red wine braised duck leg served with prunes and dark chocolate, or the 150g steak frites: a NSW eye fillet with house-made organic potato fries.
Best French restaurant Sydney has ever seen? There’s some stiff competition, of course, but Bistro St Jacques is definitely up there.
Address: 96 Pitt St, Redfern NSW 2016
Contact: 0478 705 704
Opening Hours: Monday (5:30 PM — 10 PM); Thursday to Friday (12 PM — 2:30 PM, 5:30 PM — 10 PM); Saturday to Sunday (12 PM — 3 PM, 5:30 PM — 10 PM)
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