L’etoile, Paddington
L’etoile is well known as the little French bistro in Paddington run by Manu Feildel, celebrity chef and foodie pin-up-boy for many female diners in Sydney. Was he there on the Thursday night Grumpy Girrl and I dined? No. On holiday. Sad…no. The thought of Grumpy Girrl going all goggley for him wasn’t in my dinner plans!
I started with the signature Boudin de st jacques, Bisque de Crustaces, translated by Babel Fish as roll of St Jacques, Shellfish Bisque. I am hoping St Jacques was the name of Manus favorite scallop farm otherwise hello cannibalism and eating religious icons. Regardless, tasty although you wouldn’t want too much as this was a full tasting entree.
Grumpy Girrl had Ballotine d’echallote au cumin, cavier d’aubergine, vinagrette ala tomate et huilede noix or in English, Ballotine of little onions with cumin, cavier with eggplant, a vinagrette that went tomato and some untranslatable nut. She was pretty happy with it as a light vegetarian starter and wasn’t in the least concerned that her vinaigrette went tomato on her.
A quick aside, the dinner was an early end for our Dry July so the wine list should be mentioned (celebrated, applauded, worshiped, use your own adjective of lover here to reflect the joy of finishing a month without a tipple). We ordered by the glass and found the prices reasonable. The high point was the Penley Estate Hyland Cab Sav, a serious wine win by a brilliant little winery in the Coonwawrra. You cannot lose with a Penley red.
For mains I ordered the pig, with Roti de Porc Franc au boudin et Persil, Laitune Braisee, Sauce au Cidre (Frank joint of pork with the roll and Parsley, lettuce sauce with Cider). I can confirm the frankness of the pork. There was definitely no double talk between us although the black pudding stuffing defeated me.
Grumpy Girrl had the Bavette d’aloyau sauce au poivre et cognac (flap of sirloin sauce with pepper and cognac) which as a description does take the romance out of a beautiful piece of Waygu with Cognac sauce.
Desert was all very French and we’ll no doubt be back to try this another time.
In short classic French bistro dining for a reasonable price, no need to sell an organ to pay your bill. I give it 8 Noms out of 10!
Yours in nomness,
Captain AR Pants esq from Rants from the Grumpy Side of Life
L’etoile Restaurant & Bar, 211 Glenmore Road, Paddington (02) 9332 1577
Category: Restaurants
Captain Angry Ranty Pants! Thank you for this wonderful guest post. Glad to see you’re not always ranting about things that make you angry. I must confess, I have a serious sweet spot for Mr Feildel…I’m a sucker for a French accent.
xxMs D
I was looking for an informative and current review. Current, yes, but your review was terrible. I wonder if you ..no, changed my mind. Your review was shit, badly written. I think the food was probably very good, even though you don’t really mention it that much. I can’t be bothered with the rest of my reply. Your review is so much about yourself. You probably write reviews about buying a train ticket. I’d still go to L’etoile, but only if you’re not there.
Hi Nerdy77,
Thanks for dropping by and sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for.
EatDrinkPlay is a blog about personal experiences eating, drinking and playing in the east from myself and on occasion guest bloggers such as Angry Ranty Pants.
I’ve taken the liberty of suggesting a few other links that might help you find out more info on L’etoile:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/good-living/restaurant-reviews/letoile/2009/05/11/1241893909177.html
http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/venue/restaurant/french/letoile.aspx
Hope this helps!
I’ve wandered past this place a couple of times and wondered what it’s like, so thanks for your review.. I’ll have to check out their menu online
Please do my Ladybird friend…let me know what you think if you go there for dinner. Fingers crossed Mr Manu will be there too!