Five Dishes To Order at Bistro Grenier: From XO Escargot to Chicken With Champagne Sauce

Few French restaurants in Sydney compare to Bistro Grenier. Hidden within the moody mezzanine of Odd Culture beer and wine bar, it straddles tradition and innovation with an intentionally playful approach. “The freaks are welcome” is the restaurant’s motto – a fitting tagline for a menu grounded in French technique and shaped by Newtown’s eccentricity.

You’ll find all the bistro classics, reimagined with distinctly local references and a willingness to bend the rules. The result is French food that’s both serious and fun, and you can try it for less.

Broadsheet and NAB have teamed up for Bookings With Benefits, a dining program that gives you $50 off the bill when you spend $250 or more and pay on your NAB credit or debit card at selected venues – including Bistro Grenier – across the country.

It’s hard to go wrong with anything on the menu, but if you want to hit the highlights, executive chef and culinary director Tony Gibson shares the five dishes you shouldn’t miss.

Steak tartare with house-made crisps 

Steak tartare is a classic for a reason, says Gibson. His version sticks to the standard format, with a few subtle tweaks to brighten it up. Wagyu topside is hand-diced and mixed with ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and a house-fermented chilli sauce in place of Tabasco, before being topped with a lightly cooked egg yolk.

“We have a little pot of extra-virgin olive oil next to the stove that we confit the egg yolks in for each service,” Gibson says.

It’s served alongside house-made potato crisps finished with salt and vinegar for a sharp, crunchy contrast.

Escargot, XO butter, pommes dauphine

Escargot might be a French bistro mainstay, but Gibson’s version is unmistakably local. “It’s a very Sydney-centric dish, inspired by XO pippies at Golden Century,” he says.

The snails are sauteed in a house compound butter built around a European-inspired XO sauce. “Rather than the traditional XO that’s got all the dried seafood – scallops, prawns and things like that – we’ve made it a bit more European. We’ve got anchovies and diced charcuterie rather than Chinese sausage, and then a nice hit of chilli from Aleppo peppers.” 

In place of the youtiao served alongside Golden Century’s pippies, Gibson opts for crisp, airy pommes dauphine – whipped potato folded through choux pastry, piped and fried until golden.

Poulet rôti, champagne sauce, grapes 

Poulet rôti, or roast chicken, is one of the menu’s more restrained dishes – and that’s part of its popularity.

“It’s just an elevated comfort dish, done with a little bit of elegance,” Gibson says.

Free-range Bannockburn chickens are brined with salt, lemon, garlic and thyme before being roasted and served with a champagne velouté made from reduced champagne, chicken stock and a touch of cream. Leaning into the season, the dish is finished with black and green grapes, plus a generous drizzle of Australian extra-virgin olive oil.

Sunday pork roast

Available on Sundays throughout winter, Bistro Grenier’s pork roast has quickly become a favourite.

Byron Bay pork saddle is dry aged to concentrate its flavour and firm the meat, then it’s roasted until the fat renders and the skin crackles. It’s served, Gibson says, with “what you would imagine French people eat for a Sunday roast”: creamed local kale, crisp roast potatoes and sauce charcutière, a rich pork jus sharpened with capers, gherkins, shallots and grain mustard.

The unexpected hero, though, is the roasted cocktail apples, whose sweetness balances the richness of the pork.

Dark chocolate cremeux, orange tuile, EVOO, sea salt

Chocolate cremeux – a rich set chocolate custard enriched with eggs – is a staple in France and at Bistro Grenier. Its version keeps the focus on quality ingredients rather than excessive sweetness – a drizzle of fruity extra-virgin olive oil draws out the floral notes in the dark chocolate, while flaky sea salt highlights its savouriness. It’s finished with a crisp caramelised orange tuile with a touch of Grand Marnier, resulting in something indulgent but sophisticated.

“It’s like a grown-up version of Nutella,” says Gibson. 

The Broadsheet Dining Program Special Offer of a $50 discount when you spend $250 or more is available when you dine at a Participating Restaurant between 13 January 2026 and 16 December 2026. To be eligible for the Discount Offer, you must make a booking via the NAB Exclusive Booking Link for the Participating Restaurant which is found on the Broadsheet Booking page and spend a minimum of $250 on your NAB credit card. Between 2 June 2026 and 16 December 2026, the Discount Offer will also be available on NAB debit card payments at select venues. The Discount Offer will apply at the Restaurant when you pay the final bill amount including GST and service fees and charges (if any) with your NAB credit card (includes a digital NAB credit card) or NAB debit card (includes a digital NAB debit card) at select venues. The Discount Offer is only valid once per booking and will not apply to any split bills and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers. For the full Terms and Conditions of this Offer, please click here. 

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with NAB.