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115 Bulleen Road, Balwyn North, 9859 4224
My score: 3/5
A quiet shopping strip near the Eastern Freeway isn’t an obvious place to concoct an ode to France but Bar Sur Loup’s Greek-Australian owner Kathy Licciardi thinks Balwyn is as good a place as any to let Francophilia flourish. She lived in Le Bar-Sur-Loup, a hill town in Provence for four years, and its Melbourne namesake is a selective remembering of France’s most delightful creations, like flicking through a carefully edited photo album with all the wrong turns, snooty ‘merci mesdames’ and bad omelettes excised once and for all.
The fantasy writ real is a bright timbered shopfront with picket-fenced pavement area. The repertoire includes delightful macarons, baguettes, waffles made with proper yeast dough, savoury buckwheat crepes (and sweet flour ones), all served on charming enamel plates. It’s a popular place with ladies a-lunching and the after-school crowd. Parents seeking to bribe their children are assured success: the waffles have a good balance of crunchy crust and chewy centre, the chocolate sauce is Belgian couverture and strawberries gesture benignly towards health.
Crepes are properly crisp, pliant and slightly sour: I like the Le Grec with spinach, dill and a generous crumbling of feta. I suggest sharing if you’re to have a hope of finishing with something sweet. The macarons have good, chewy texture and are sandwiched with flavoured chocolate cream. Even in cool weather it’s hard to say no to the ice cream, displayed in deep barrels under spectacular chrome domes. Creamy and delicious varieties include hazelnut and raspberry. The fancy Hansi soft drinks are from Alsace, loose-leaf tea is served in pots and the coffee is good. The fabulous coffee slushie is taking a winter break but a daily soup has risen in its place. Come on Fridays for French onion soup.
Bar Sur Loup is evidently a labour of love but the team seems easily rattled during busy periods and the order-at-the-counter strategy means staff can appear disconnected from the dining room action. Anyway, the hot and cold service makes Bar Sur Loup even more authentically French, and it’s hard to stay grumpy with a chocolate waffle in front of you.
More Frenchy restaurants:
Chez Dre, Rear 285-287 Coventry Street, South Melbourne, 9690 2688
The French breads, pastries and cakes are amazing but there’s lovely savoury food too. The all-day breakfast menu includes a pork belly, sausage and smoked ham cassoulet, and croque monsieur grilled sandwiches.
Depot de Pain, 616 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, 8803 7898
Starting early with eggs hollandaise, crepes, eclairs and croissants, the Depot keeps the French times rolling right through till evening. Eat in or take impressive meals home to heat up. Also Black Rock, Carlton North, South Yarra and St Kilda Road.
Parisian Patisserie Boulangerie, 19 Keilor Road, Essendon, 9379 3815
Pick up bread, cakes and donuts to go or stick around for a hot chocolate, a savoury brioche or to drool over the pastries.
First published in The Age, May 25, 2014.
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