Inglewood’s Bistro Massilia Brings Marseille Flair to Beaufort Street

“I’m local to the area, so for me, it’s a do or die,” says David Pille, the driving force behind Bistro Massilia. The Euro-style neighbourhood bistro opened in Inglewood last week, bringing the wide-ranging French and Mediterranean notes of its port-city namesake, Massilia (the ancient Roman name for present-day Marseille), to Beaufort Street 

Bistro Massilia pairs Pille – former general manager at West Leederville’s one-stop-shop Besk – with chef Matt Mills, whose repertoire spans UK destinations such as the Michelin-starred Pensons in Herefordshire and the five-star Foxhill Manor in the Cotswolds. Together with landlord Mark Cecchi – co-founder of Cecchi’s Restaurant, which used to occupy the site – they’re showcasing seasonal WA produce in a share menu of dressed up comfort food that’s designed to be fun and approachable.

“It’s a big celebration of life,” says Pille, who hopes the bistro will become a fixture for Inglewood locals like him – a place where people will come to celebrate big occasions, but also to just catch up with friends or feed the kids.

The fun starts at the top, with a dessert masquerading as a savoury starter: an eclair of light choux pastry filled with duck parfait and topped with spiced plum and Sichuan peppercorns. The coquillettes jambon – a kind of French mac’n’cheese, of moreish, comté-laden elbow pasta – inspired by after-school meals from Pille’s childhood (his father was raised in a village in northern France). The steak is a confit Black Angus oyster blade – an affordable cut that gets premium treatment, slow-cooked overnight.

Pille singles out the swordfish cotoletta as a favourite. It’s served on a bed of bouillabaisse, with smoked mussels and a quenelle of chervil butter, in a signature display of the varied influences at work in Mills’s Marseille-style cooking. The real showstopper, though, is the cheeseburger: cut in half, skewered and served in an ocean of bearnaise sauce. Like the rest of the menu, it’s designed for sharing and best paired with fries to soak up the sauce.

Massilia’s local ethos flows through the drinks selection. Besk sommelier Trent Everitt has put together a list of mostly WA drops, with a handful of old-world bottles for good measure. A concise beer menu includes brews from Found and Eagle Bay, while cocktails by local drinks pro Shirley Yeung (Mix Haus, Foxtrot Unicorn) take cues from European aperitif traditions (Pille recommends the Pastis Jardin, a mix of gin, fennel, pastis and mint).

Service is inspired by the bistro culture of northern France, with Pille drawing on his family’s village staples. He describes these local bistros as places not only where “the food is good”, but where people linger – and, importantly, where the bartender greets everyone by name.

“It’s about people. We want to be a bistro with quality food that isn’t over the top … and honest service where it’s just going to be good banter.”

Bistro Massilia

965 Beaufort Street, Inglewood

(08) 9271 6366

Hours:

Wed & Thu 3pm–10pm

Fri midday–late

Sat midday– late

Sun midday–10pm

@bistromassilia

bistromassilia.com.au