Bistro Guillaume

When you finish your steak frites and the waiter asks if you want to see the day’s selection of pastries, say “yes”. A cart will be rolled out, and on it will be chocolate mousse, chocolate tarts, mille-feuille, lemon tarts and Paris-Brests.

Bistro Guillaume offers what French-born owner-chef Guillaume Brahimi calls classic French dining; respect for produce and recipes without taking the experience too seriously. Dishes include French onion soup, steak tartare, twice-baked soufflé, whole roast chickens, and cote de boeuf with béarnaise sauce.

There is also a lamb pithivier (a buttery pie); whiting with fried potatoes and butter; enomatic wines (preserved after opening); and a breakfast menu. The latter is probably the least French part of the experience. It’s more representative of what most city workers want – muesli, avo on toast (from Iggy’s), and eggs done every which way. The most exciting is the scrambled eggs with fresh truffles, or try the omelette with smoked ham and gruyere.

There are marble interiors, which match the walls of the lobby the restaurant is in; dark wooden panelling; and timber flooring.