Le Petit Louvre — Restaurant in Sydney

I dined here last night with my partner for his birthday, and the experience was nothing short of spectacular, from start to finish!

Firstly, being able to accommodate an 8pm booking (as I work late) on a quiet Wednesday night was already generous for a small business. Christian then took the time to message me during the day to see if we'd like to enjoy some oysters as part of our meal (and proceeded to go to the Fish Markets to get them fresh for us!).

From the moment we arrived, we felt overjoyed by the beauty of the space and the warmth of the atmosphere. Christian has crafted the most incredible place to sit and enjoy a meal. He took us through the menu in detail, including describing the paired beverages and why they work with the food (as well as why he chose the decor, where the incredible Camembert gets its flavour, and myriad other fascinating information that was right up our alley as musicians and budding historians!).

From there, he gave us time to consider our food choices while he prepared the oysters. They were so freshly shucked we almost wept with joy, and he included a special trick to teach us for making the process even more wonderful. The pairings with the oysters were specific to this space, too, and honestly it was one of the best oyster experiences we've ever had (and we consider ourselves oyster enthusiasts!).

We ordered both the Baked Camembert and the Chevre Salade, to be extra indulgent on a special occasion...and we could not be happier with both of these dishes! I believe one or other of us uttered the words 'religious experience' more than once during this course! The dressing on the salad was the most delicious I've ever tasted (I confess to not being a huge fan of salad in general, but this was something else entirely, and I could not recommend it more highly).

Full though we already were at this point, we gathered our strength and enjoyed a delicious Cassoulet for our main - its portion size defeated us at this stage of things, but Christian kindly told us it wasn't a fair fight, and he believes we could have been victorious under different circumstances (to find a shared dry humour in amongst the rest of this amazing experience was really beautiful, too).

Determined to exercise our 'dessert stomachs', however, we proceeded to order the Tarte Tatin, which (like much of the menu) was house-made to Christian's grandmother's secret recipe, and unlike any dessert either of us had previously had in Australia - syrupy without being sickly, textured to perfection throughout both layers, and just the most divine flavours we could have hoped for.

At the commencement of the meal, Christian had described to us the Poires Au Vin also on offer, and while we were at this point feeling full beyond capacity, neither of us could bear the thought of leaving without also trying this. And I can tell you it was more than worth the extra holes in our belts - the Creme de Cassis pour brought out the already incredible flavours within the dessert, and rounded off a perfect night with applomb.

Please, do yourself a favour and explore this hidden gem as soon as you can - honestly, words can't even really capture the happiness we experienced last night. I will say this in closing, though - I'm usually a fan of taking photos of my food (I know, I know, but it's not for the 'gram so much as to help me relive the experience later, especially when it's been a great one)...but last night I was so fully immersed in the live experience, I couldn't even bring myself to take a single snapshot, lest I lose even one second of food-induced ecstasy. If that doesn't tell you something, I'm not sure what will. Run, don't walk - Le Petit Louvre is for any lover of the finest...

One-man band, average food, excruciatingly long wait - not worth the hype. This is not what good French food and service should be. There are 4 tables only which would have been good if we had been served some food (any food) in a reasonable amount of time. After 1h30 waiting with absolutely nothing to eat (not even the bread/butter or bread/oil combination), we asked for at least 1 entree to be served. Response was: well, it's an entree for one so not sure what you will do with it. Well, we will eat it, that's what we'll do. We left after the entrees, not having the energy and grit to order and wait for mains. It would probably been another 2 hours' wait. All in all, we stayed for 2 hours and had a small serve of saucisson and pate with hardly any bread, an over-baked camembert and sad-looking iceberg salad with some goat cheese on toast. The poor people next to us had to listen to a lecture on how to butter their bread and suck their oysters. Christian actually took a piece of their bread to put butter on it for them!? Never seen this in any restaurant (French or other). Throwing in some elaborate French words which mean nothing in the context does not lift the experience (I know, I am French). Keep it simple and get the basics right - get 1 staff if you cannot cope or get more prep...

Our family spent a wonderful evening at Le Petit Louvre. This quaint and ambient little cheese shop provides an experience like no other. As we walked in, all of our senses were greeted and it's as if we stepped back in time to the French regency period. Intricately decorated ceilings, soft classical music, gorgeous paintings, and of course Christian who was the highlight of the evening. Christian's passion for food, wine, art and culture is what drew us to come and dine at his restaurant in the first place. After spending 9 years in Switzerland, our palettes were craving the tastes and smells of somewhere we used to call home. His decadent cheese fondue brought us back to how we used to spend the evenings by the fire after a day of skiing. We were absolutely spoiled by Christian's one-on-one hospitality, as he took the time to explain and demonstrate each aspect of the meal. The wine complimented each course perfectly, and we can't stop thinking about that delicious Tarte Tatin!! Such a memorable experience for us all, and we can't wait to visit...