Armorica, A Parisian Brasserie In Surry Hills

Armorica Surry Hills — a grand Parisian brasserie built around the Josper grill

Crown Street's grandest slice of Paris has been holding court in Surry Hills since 2023. Armorica Grande Brasserie is the third venue from restaurateur Andrew Becher, the name behind Franca and Parlar, and takes its title from the ancient Celtic region of northern France that stretched toward what would become Paris. The 150-seat room is pure brasserie glamour, with detailed timber ceilings, European oak and leather banquettes and deep red tones throughout, and every piece of furniture and joinery custom-made right here in Sydney.

A custom-built Josper grill sits at the heart of the kitchen, and executive chef Jose Saulog leans into it with hand-selected steaks, from a Jack's Creek flat iron to a Tallawanta bone-in sirloin, finished with café de Paris butter or béarnaise. Seafood gets the same treatment, with wood-fired mussels, king prawns in café de Paris with milk buns, and a seafood tower stacked with oysters, kingfish and WA marron. If you're going all out, the black pearl caviar arrives with brie-stuffed donuts, and the bombe Alaska makes a fittingly theatrical finish.

The bar is just as French at heart, with an international wine list, a run of signature cocktails like the Garden Sour with lychee and Lillet Blanc, and a whisky shelf that includes single malts from Brittany. There's something on most days of the week: a $6 happy hour from 4pm to 6pm, bottomless steak frites on Monday nights, a Boardroom to Brasserie lunch deal midweek and live jazz and blues every Friday from 9pm.