Bécasse opened in 2001 on Albion St, Surry Hills, and then moved its new premises on Clarences St in Sydney’s CBD in 2005. According to their website,

“Bécasse has developed and evolved into one of the Sydney’s premier dining spaces, with it’s modern French cuisine and professional, friendly service with one of the cities finest cellars. Justin and Georgia’ North’s motivation is to continue to evolve their establishment into one of Australia’s finest restaurants. The driving force behind the menus is the extremely high quality of the ingredients sourced by the kitchen, with strong depth of classic technique, and well seasoned balanced flavour.”

Bécasse was awarded two chef’s hats 2009, Good Food Guide.

About the Chef Justin North

Heralding from New Zealand, Justin North began his cooking career early, winning the many awards, including the New Zealand Apprentice Chef of the Year.

He then moved to Sydney and has worked at Gekko Restaurant, Brassiere Cassis. Justin then moved to England and at 22 he was Raymond Blanc’s youngest ever 2nd Sous chef at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons. In Paris, Justin worked at both the 3 Michelin Starred Pierre Gagnaire and Guy Savoy-a real.

Upon returning to Sydney, Justin then re-joined Liam Tomlin back in Sydney as Sous Chef at Banc Restaurant. After 2 years at Banc, Justin opened his own restaurant Bécasse in Surry Hills with his wife Georgia North.

Menus

From the Bécasse website:

“When it comes to writing the menus and choosing the ingredients for Bécasse our philosophy is very simple. We choose only the freshest of ingredients allowing the seasons to advise our selections. We strongly believe in starting the food preparation each day from scratch, we begin at the fish markets where we gather our inspiration for the day’s menus. The chefs at Bécasse will only choose the freshest, most vibrant fish on offer, and will not be influenced by trends and fads.

Download their menus here Becasse Menus

Reviews

The Experience by real people for real people:

“The feeling of Bécasse is romantic and special. The food was lovely and the service was good. They have a great selection of wines also. The only thing I can say is that the bathroom while being very clean and fresh was up stairs and after a few glasses of wine over dinner in high heels I am wishing it was on the first floor”

“The best dessert I have had in a while was from Becasse – it was eton mess.”

“Perfection! Heaven on a plate. Slick and professional staff coupled with some of the best food eaten to date. This is a must do restaurant.”

“I will definitely go back for the black truffle degustation soon.”

Website

www.becasse.com.au/

Address

204 Clarence Street,
Sydney 2000
Telephone: +61 (0)2 9283 3440

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And so we embarked on 8 courses, each announced only moments before being placed on the table. Some were delightful, some were challenging but it was a triumph of esophageal fortitude and complex culinary skill that the majority of the table managed to finish all courses. Matching wines were expertly paired with the courses and were definitely the highlight of the evening.

Foods Tried

Matching Wines in Italics

Chaud Froid Free Range Egg

Almond Jelly with Blue Swimmer Crab, Almond Gazpacho, Sweet Corn & Avruga
2007 Brundlmayer Gruner Veltliner, Kamptal, Austria

Cured Ocean Trout with Coleslaw, Lemon & Dill Jelly
2007 Goisot ‘Corps de Garde’ Fie Gris, saint Bris, France

Yellow-fin Tuna on French Toast with Foie Gras Butter and Pork Crackling
2008 Perrigrine Pinot Gris, Central Otago, NZ

Duck Ham with Braised & Fresh Endive & Parmesan
2008 Felton Road Vin Gris, Central Otago, New Zealand

Slow Cooked Pork Jowl with Spinach & Pacific Oyster
2006 Domaine Du Parc saint Charles, Cotes Du Rhone, France

18 hour Angus Short Rib with Boudin Noir, Onion Croquettes & Smoked Onion
2006 Scarzello Dolcetto D’Alba, Piedmont, Italy

Brunet with Rhubarb, New Seasons Pistachio & Mancha Tea Macaroon
2007 Markus Molitor Riesling Trocken, Mosel, Germany

Warm Chocolate Ganache with Hazelnut Croquant, Yoghurt, Eucalyptus & Raspberry
‘Rutherglen Espresso~’Rutherglen Tokay, splash of Kahlua Especial 70 Proof

Salted Caramel Chocolates & Bitter Bon Bons

Favourite Foods

The favourite course was unanimous. The Cured Ocean Trout with Coleslaw, Lemon & Dill Jelly, was described as ‘visually appealing’ and ‘unique’. The presentation of the lemon & dill as a jelly rather than as a typical garnish enhanced the already wonderful flavour of the cured ocean trout.

Additionally, it appeared we all appreciated the sommelier’s skill in pairing wines with each dish, with one of the diners commenting that the degustation would likely not have worked so well if not for the wines.

Most memorable flavours

It appears that the most memorable flavours were not necessarily the most desirable flavours, with many of us appreciating the ‘challenging’ nature of Mark Best’s gourmet tastes.

The amuse-bouche of Chaud Froid Free Range egg (originally invented by Alain Passard in 1998) was ‘an acquired taste’ but understandable ‘if you consider that they eat frog legs and uncooked snails in France’.

Again the wines were described as a highlight of the evening, especially as they were styles and regions that we would probably never try on our own.

Ratings

Atmosphere

In general, we were positive on the atmosphere of Marque…

“Very nice, dark, intimate, not too loud but still lively, not too formal but still classy”

“Elegant & classy without being intimidating”

… with the one downside being somewhat out of the control of the restaurant owners.

“Was nice, but empty which detracted”

Service

This area was awarded the most points, with 60% of the table giving it the highest score possible.

“Waiters were friendly and knowledgeable”

“the service was efficient & quick”

And it seems like ‘presentation’ is important, not just when looking at our plates:

“…… and – if that wasn’t enough – even reasonably good looking (at least after all that wine)”

Food presentation

The presentation held up to the standard expected from a restaurant with a ‘hat’,

“overall the presentation highlighted the experimental nature of the food”

“Truly convincing – fantastic presentation without presenting over-the-top artwork”

“the lemon & dilly jelly was a fun way of garnishing the cured trout dish”

However it may not have been innovative enough for one of our reviewers:

“pretty generic in terms of presenting fine dining”

Food quality

The food quality was judged to be outstanding in most cases, with one sentiment repeated in a few reviews:

“the food quality was excellent, but the wine quality even more so!”

Food taste

There were definitely some hits and some misses.

“Some was delicious, but others were ‘challenging’. I don’t know if I want to be challenged when I go out to dinner”

However, overall the taste of the food was judged to be of a high quality, interesting & innovative as long as we were willing to step outside our comfort zone once in a while (and possibly not finish a dish).

“I had more dishes that I didn’t enjoy as opposed to the minority that were really excellent”

“Outstanding – amazing combination of flavours and thoroughly enjoyable”

“too much foie-gras butter on the tuna dish”

“The wines enhanced the food taste.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed most dishes”

Overall Rating: 4.12/5

About Marque

Marque Restaurant opened in 2000 and rated as one of the best dining experiences in Australia. It has been awarded 3 hats by the SMH Good Food Guide 2009, as well as receiving praise for its extensive and well chosen wine list. The cuisine is prepared by ‘Chef of the Year’, Mark Best and the ambience is described as intimate and intense. Marque is located on Crown Street in Surry Hills.

About the Chef Mark Best

Profiled by De Groots:
Highly acclaimed executive chef Mark Best is passionate about French food. He began his apprenticeship at the Macleay Street Bistro in Potts Point 1990 and worked there for five years before opening up his own restaurant, Peninsula Bistro, in Balmain. His restaurant was well received by locals, however after a few years Mark decided to further his knowledge of French cuisine in the best way possible, time in Paris. Mark worked at Alain Passard’s three Michelin starred L’Arpege before heading over to the UK for a stint at Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons, Raymond Blanc’s Great Milton hotel/restaurant.

Signature Dish

Dishes are constantly being altered and refined, and the suggested way to experience Marque is through a degustation. Some of the recurring options are:

• almond jelly served with firm crab meat, almond gazpacho, prune oil and sweet corn custard
• caramelised tomato is stuffed with twelve flavours and served with star anise ice-cream

Menu

Marque features French cuisine. The menu can be found on the website. There is an 8 course degustation for $145 per person, $75 extra for matching wines. The a la carter option is $28 for an entrée, $48 for a main and $24 or dessert.
The wine list is extensive and indulgent, featuring wines from around the world and of course, France in particular.

Reviews

SMH describes Marque as “No views, no frills and a smart interior that doesn’t try hard to impress”, instead the high point of the review appears to be “exemplary service and the spectacle of what’s on the plate”.

The Gourmet Traveller review claims that Marque is serving “some of the most interesting food and wine you’re likely to find in Australia right now”. It laments however that the food can be ‘challenging’ and the author does claim to have had a Mr Bean moment where she/he was looking for somewhere to hide a dish that was a little too exotic/innovative.

And of course the most reliable source of all, the topmost review on Eatability claims that the restaurant dining room is “dark, moody, sexy and unpretentious” and the service “impreccable”.

Website

Marque Restaurant

Address

Marque
Shop 4
355 Crown Street
Surry Hills
NSW 2010 Australia
tel: +61 2 9332 2225

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Then in Melbourne for a weekend, we used Urban Spoon to find somewhere to eat and we ended up at Bistrot D’Orsay at 184 Collins St, Melbourne, VIC 3000 (03) 9654 6498‎. The atmosphere was good again, but not quite as warm and rustic. Its right across from the theatre so it is easy to get a quick meal. My food was excellent and the wine list was even better. I quite enjoyed the pate entree.

Bistrot D Orsay, Melbourne

Finally, I got to eat at the Little Frog in Wyong after a year of waiting. The atmosphere was even less authentic, but there was a cool wooden sculpture over the bar. I was so excited to finally get a reservation here, as it is the only French restaurant on the entire Central Coast and it was booked out when I stayed up here a year ago. We booked two months in advance for this reservation (though I think a week or two would suffice). The wine list was good and the service was great. I really enjoyed my meal, which included a trio of pate for entree and a whole spatchcock for main. The skin on the spatchcock did start to get soggy after a bit, but I managed to eat some of the crispy stuff early on.

It seems cozy French food is a great choice for a weekend away, as it feels a bit exotic and a bit like an indulgence. I haven’t had a bad meal yet at any of the restaurants, especially since a good wine makes any meal great.