“When I heard about Montrachet going for sale, I was like, ‘Wow, this is a chance that never happens.’ It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. So I made an offer and got it,” Montrachet’s new chef and owner Clément Chauvin tells Broadsheet.

After closing its doors at the end of July, Brisbane’s storied, multi-award-winning French restaurant Montrachet is now reopening with Chauvin at the helm. The Parisian-born Chauvin was raised in France’s regional gastronomic capital Lyon. He trained as a chef de comis under the lauded Anne-Sophie Pic at her three-Michelin-starred restaurant – which Chauvin describes at being “thrown in the deep end”. Before working with Gordon Ramsay at his now-closed restaurant at Claridge’s in London.

After moving to Australia, Chauvin worked as the head of Sydney’s now-closed Bistro Paris before moving to Canberra and opening his much loved French fine diner Les Bistronomes.

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After 10 years in action, Bistronomes is a well-oiled machine, giving Chauvin the bandwidth to expand with a new venue. He seized the opportunity to buy Montrachet, which he first heard about when (under previous owner Shannon Kellam) it pipped Bistronomes for Best French Restaurant in Australia at the 2023 Restaurant and Catering Awards.

“Montrachet has been an institution in Brisbane, so it really excites me to be able to come in and give it a third life,” says Chauvin.

“The menu from Canberra and the new menu in Brisbane are going to be very similar, so people can recognise my style in both cities”.

The dishes are designed for sharing, with menu highlights including a made-to-share beef Wellington, which was inspired by Chauvin’s time working with Ramsay; duck à la roche, a revamped French classic made with Tathra duck, and steak frites made with traditional Châteaubriand cuts.

Helping bring the vision to life is general manager and master sommelier Remon Van de Kerkhof, previously of Oncore by Clare Smyth and Aria, who will oversee Montrachet’s famous wine list.

Montrachet
1/30 King Street, Bowen Hills
(07) 3367 0030

Hours
Tue 5.30pm–10pm
Wed to Fri 12pm–3pm
Sat 5.30pm–10pm

www.montrachet.com.au

@montrachet_restuarant