After flying down to Melbourne for an audition, I had several hours to spend at leisure… Cue lunch somewhere fabulous, thanks to Mum who footed the bill. Bistro Vue is the little sister of Shannon Bennett’s Vue de Monde, one of Melbourne’s finest restaurants. I have a craving for Paris at the moment, and this little slice of Paris did nothing to satisfy that craving, rather augmenting it and making it almost unbearable.
I don’t mind dining alone, but the hostess had set some reading material on the table in case I desired to look at it, and indeed I did. Shannon Bennett’s own guide books to the top restaurants of major world cities. After reading the most important thing on the table, the menu, I leafed through the books seeing what Shannon had to say about some of the restaurants I have been fortunate enough to attend, Daniel and Eleven Madison Park in New York
It was the gorgeous details that made Bistro Vue charming, such as the floral china pattern (white gets tiresome) and the lovely little piece of slate the pat of butter and salt flakes were on. The bread roll was one of the standouts of restaurant rolls; warm crusty outside, dense inside. Delicious.
Being winter, I wanted something akin to a snuggly blanket, and today that snuggly blanket was a lamb rump with pipérade and pommes fondant. The lamb was succulent and pink and the piquancy of the pipérade (sautéed peppers, onion and tomato) worked superbly with the sweetness of the lamb. I have decided that lamb is my favourite meat. It cannot be beaten. The stout column of pommes fondant was great to mop up the juices with and worked well texturally. All in all, a supreme dish to sate one’s winter lunch tummy.
I paired this with a glass of 2009 Delas Cots-du-Rhone ‘Saint-Eaprit’ Grenache Syrah. This was a lovely medium-bodied red, with smooth tannins and lingering strawberry on the palate. I wish I was drinking a glass right now…
Dessert. Soufflé au chocolat was on the menu. Done. I adore a soufflé. I adored this one. The pastry chef brought it to the table and pierced the top, pouring the chocolate sauce down into it. It was superb. The girlish, light texture of the soufflé, backed up by the rich, decadent pow of the sauce. It was almost too much to finish, but not quite.
The staff was attentive, but not invasive and made dining at Bistro Vue a very slick experience. The sommelier also gave me a nip of port on him, which was very kind, as he felt I needed something to drink with my dessert. Very nice. I strolled out into the winter sun a very satisfied young lady and wondered what to do with the rest of the day (the rest of the day was cut short due to crippled feet from monster heels and I spent the rest of it waiting for my flight home in the Qantas Club lounge with my boots off). If your heart is yearning for a morsel of the city of lights, stop by Bistro Vue for a very Frenchy experience.
