Bistro St Jacques — Restaurant in Sydney

“We needed a name that better said what we are,” owner Gary Prebble explained when I finally worked out Bistro St. Jacques was Pitt St. Diner rebadged. With gold lettering on pink, blue and white French doors, done in an appropriate French bistro font, backed by dainty black chiffon curtains, it’s an eye-catching shop front. On display outside, the classic French bistro menu very nearly unseated my desire to visit Juan Bowl + Tea next door and was enough to lure me back on a second visit to Redfern the very next week.

When we arrive for our booking, every table is full, and the restaurant buzzes with a convivial hum. Edison bulbs held captive inside black mesh pendant light shades exude a warm orange glow that illuminated the pretty pressed tin ceiling. From the outset it’s clear this restaurant is serious about wine, with bottle racks on the wall of the long galley-like dining room, and in the intimate private dining room.

The extensive wine list offers up some good descriptions of Prebble’s favourite wines, like the 2016 By Farr Viognier, Geelong ($125), which, though pricy is a wonderful drop packaging up power, concentration and surprising restraint. Prebble writes: “re-experience this varietal” and he’s right on the mone - without the heady perfume, it’s a non-characteristic Viognier that is worth trying if, like me, you avoid this varietal because of the floral elements.

Being lightly lemony with flinty minerals, this Viognier is made for oysters. Today they’re tight little Sydney Rock Oysters ($4/each) from Pambula on the NSW south coast. All they need is a squeeze of lemon, and they’re away, though the French shallot and Champagne vinegar they’re served with is sharp and enjoyable. Thinly sliced rounds of house-made Bread ($2/person) are tasty and dense, especially when thickly lathered with the accompanying, bright apple and thyme-infused butter.

You’ll also get four little slices to accompany your Duck Liver & Pistachio Parfait ($16), which, if you carefully quarter the pink, unoxidised slice of parfait and spread it on thick, stays within the acceptable carbohydrate-to-parfait range. While the accompanying pickles are too sweet for me on their own, laid over your parfait covered baguette rounds like juicy, wet blankets, they work against the iron-rich flavour.

Coquilles St Jacques ($18) presents three tiny Tasmanian scallops gratinéed in their shells in a blend of butter, fennel, shallots, garlic and fresh breadcrumbs. While they’re pretty to look at, they’re cooked a bit heavily with the normally tender scallop meat getting a bit lost in translation.

With every table full, our mains take longer than they should. When the Herb & Parmesan-Crusted Lamb Brains ($30) finally do arrive, they prove well worth the wait. The crisp crust hides pink, creamy interiors that respond beautifully to the tangy apple butter sauce at the base. Springy fresh parsley and crisp maple bacon complete the dish, both helping to ensuring that your mouth gets a complete flavour and texture workout. I love this dish.

It would obviously be remiss of me to come to a French bistro and not order Steak-Frites ($35), so I oblige with the 220-gram scotch fillet version against classic Bordelaise Sauce ($5). The beef is good, and the Bordelaise is impressive - the mid-palate of roasted bone is brightened up with a pleasantly not-too-heavy red wine. While the steak component of this classic dish that I ate at Macleay St. Bistro recently was better, Bistro St. Jacques wins hands down on the crunchy and compelling hand-cut chips.

Portions are predicated on eating three courses, so throw in a Baby Cos and Butter Head Lettuce Salad ($12) without fear. Chef Brett Jeffrey has a good eye for produce, and his duelling lettuces shine against pickled vegetables and a simple herb dressing.

Not being all that big on dessert, we go to pay the bill but kept in our chairs with free glasses of Spanish Vermut Negre (black vermouth) garnished with orange wedges and green olives. A sweet end to our meal in this above-average...

I hardly ever write reviews but unfortunately I felt that it was important as hopefully it might change the attitude of the staff.

The food was good - we had a 3 course menu. We were a table of 4 and found it to be overpriced for what it was - particularly when you have other French restaurants like Hubert at that price point. However we would have enjoyed it more if the staff were less condescending.

As a French person myself, I was embarrassed in front of our friends that we went there with as unfortunately it lived up to the French stereotype of being rude / superior. My friend had called weeks ahead and told them she was vegan which we understand is a pain for a restaurant and she was apologetic for that (which she shouldn’t have to be). The waiter kept bringing it up and “joking” about it but it was to the point where it was uncomfortable. Then, I ordered the fillet Mignon and was asked how I wanted it cooked which I said medium. I then had to hear about how if I had wanted it any more cooked than that the chef wouldn’t cook it and how it should be rare or medium rare. Again I asked for it medium and was made fun of for this.

Then, I believe it was the owner who is not French- he came over to ask us before our entrees came what wine we were having and we told him we had ordered a bottle of red. We then had to hear him carry on about how red doesn’t go with some of the entrees we ordered and he strongly suggested we have a Chardonnay. Now I understand making a suggestion for a pairing, but when the guests are politely saying no and you keep pushing the agenda.. and then on top of that you tell them that red “doesn’t go”, it gets tiring and rude. There are far better ways to make suggestions and quite frankly customers have the right to make “poor” decisions when it comes to what wine to drink with each meal. On top of this, he called us “intense” after we were all a bit confused by what was going on.

We don’t intend to go back to the restaurant unfortunately as food being “good” is not the only criteria when enjoying a restaurant - staff are a very important part. There was one really lovely gentleman who cleared our plates at the end and I remember thinking, I wish we had him from the start. Another piece of feedback - when you give a bill (ours was aprox 800) - an itemised and legible bill would be nice. It was honestly scraps of small paper with scribbles all over it, written in short hand eg BB for...

EDIT/UPDATE

Hi Mr Prebble

I am disappointed by your response I'm afraid.

I was present outside from start to finish and witnessed the incident from start to finish. I have met you before Mr Prebble, and you were not present at the time. Your report of the matter is inaccurate, secondhand hearsay, presumably from your waiters perspective. The gentlemen had a maroon walking frame and it was thrown by your waiter with the man to the ground. The observation that no laws were broken is highly debatable to put it mildly. I'm not sure how it assists to argue with me, but it seems to be a pattern for reviews you don't like. Sorry that it went this way.

I ate at this restaurant on 28 October 2021. I was seated outside on the street tables and I am familiar with and fond of the area. As sometimes happens an elderly man with mental health issues who happened to be indigenous walked up with a walking frame in an agitated state shouting at nobody in particular. Just as this happened, Tom a French waiter with big black glasses was outside and noticed him. Rather than act in a tolerant and fair minded manner, Tom became involved in a verbal and finally physical altercation with the man (who obviously needed compassion and professional assistance). Tom issued a verbal warning in a raised voice to leave or he would be physically removed. When this quite obviously escalated the situation, Tom threw him to the ground walking frame and all. The unedifying and potentially criminal episode only ended when a chef left the kitchen and separated the pair. While this happened another French waiter with a long beard came outside to aggressively stand over the elderly indigenous man in a threatening manner. I have thought long and hard before I posted this as I have never left a Google review before. However, I considered it important, as it does not appear to me to be conduct that is welcome in Redfern and demonstrates a contumelious disregard for mental health and the dignity of indigenous people and their cultural and...