‘Casual Fine Dining’ Comes To Randwick – Bistro Avoca

By Dining Dave on December 30, 2015 in Food

Restaurants make adjustments periodically. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t. While Bistro Avoca has been serving Randwick residents for over four years, seven months ago it was taken over by a new owner, who brought with him a new chef, transforming the restaurant into a modern Australian dining experience that has raised the bar in Randwick by more than a couple of notches.

Located between curry and kebab joints on a busy stretch of Avoca Street, the serenity inside the restaurant is a welcome contrast to the hustle and bustle outside, especially on the rainy Thursday night when my companion and I arrived for dinner.

Described by our waiter as ‘casual fine dining’, the interior décor is dominated by discrete shades of black and white; the only colour afoot being a couple of orange pillows dotted along the banquette that occupies two of the restaurant’s walls. An arrangement of wooden cutting boards, a large wall mirror and three prominent hanging lamps are the only other interruptions to the otherwise monochromatic interior.

The recently instated Chef de Cuisine, Leonard Michaud – an engaging 26-year-old who has plied his craft at Michelin starred restaurants in Paris and London – is so devoted to his culinary creations that he named one of the dishes after his mum, and spends 85 hours making his jus. He explained that while the bistro is strongly influenced by French cuisine, it is really a mélange of Australian, European and Asian dishes.

We kicked off with a couple of glasses of 2010 Georges of Clare Shiraz Cabernet and ordered baked French bread, three-pepper squid with shallots and jalapeno mayonnaise, and grill-marinated duck with apple rice paper and pomegranate as entrees. Leonard also threw in his specialty: pan roasted foie gras with Corella pear. We were blown away by the presentation, flavour and texture of these dishes.

For mains, we went with the two big hitters: beef Rossini with foie gras on truffle toast, pomme pont-neuf, broccolini and balsamic beef jus; and the Western Australian scampi with confit tomato risotto and bisque sauce. It really was a belly-filling indulgence.

Though completely full, we just had to indulge in Leonard’s dessert creations, and the strawberry pavlova with lime and berry sorbet, and the macaron chocolate parfait (dark and white) with passionfruit were out of this world.

Dinner at Bistro Avoca certainly isn’t an every night kind of establishment; it’s far too good for that. Go there for those special occasions, and let Leonard do the rest.

Bistro Avoca

Address | 133 Avoca Street, Randwick
Phone | (02) 9399 9667
Website | www.bistroavoca.com.au/
Email | info@bistroavoca.com.au
Open | Tue – Sat, 5:30pm until late
Sat – Sun, 10:00am – 3:00pm (spring-summer)
Prices | Dinner: Entrees, $16 – $25 / Mains,
$33 – $44
Seats | 50
Cards | All major cards
Licensed | Yes