France does a lot of things right (like amounts of butter, love for baguettes, and bubbles in wine), so we're lucky that French restaurants in Sydney serve up a top-tier slice of Gallic goodness when we're in need of an Euro escape.
From crepes to steak frites, escargot and coq au vin, Sydney's French restaurants and classically trained chefs bring us the best of what the land of wine and cheese has to offer.
These are Urban List's picks for the best French restaurants in Sydney right now.
Bistrot 916
22 Challis Avenue, Elizabeth Bay
Image credit: Urban List
Bistrot 916 nails the French atmosphere in its cosy dining room, and coveted street-side tables. The menu here is heavy on the French classics, not shying away from things like escargot and lambs brains while bold enough to tackle a range of frites dishes that leave little room for error: steak, duck and lobster. $1 oysters and a much-loved cheeseburger are weekend specials that could either lead into a hangover, or cure one.
The wine list is, as you would expect, replete with new offerings from the Burgundy, Champagne and Châteauneuf-du-Pape regions as well as some stellar homegrown drops.
Editor's note: Bistrot 916 will close permanently on Sunday 3 November—earlier plans to move the restaurant to a new location have been scrapped, so get in quick.
Monopole
16/20 Curtin Place, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Monopole | Supplied
Sydney restaurant Monopole pivoted to focus solely on French cuisine in mid-2024, with French classics delivered with the Bentley Group’s typical style and tasteful creativity. Standouts include a Sommerlad chicken and Balmain bug vol-au-vent, smoked eel mille-feuille, and an indulgent duck and comté burger with optional duck liver parfait.
With the switch to a French restaurant came a new look led by interior designer and curator Pascale Gomes-McNabb seeing the space elevated with velvet curtains, vintage wine posters, antique light fittings, and new crockery completely transforming the restaurant’s aesthetic.
While French wines were always in the mix on Monopole’s awarded wine list, the beverage program now leans heavily on key French regions, with an increased presence of French liquors and aperitifs, including in cocktails.
Bistro Moncur
116 Queen Street, Woollahra
Image credit: Bistro Moncur | Instagram
If the stunning wood-panelled, white-tableclothed dining room of this French restaurant doesn't sell it to you, the fact that Bistro Moncur has been around for 30 years absolutely should. The menu covers all regions of France with a slight Aussie spin, with signature dishes including steak tartare with an oyster emulsion, fermented chilli and Moncur gaufrettes, and the beloved vanilla crème brûlée with lemon thins.
A two or three-course set menu, a $65 daily two-course menu, and regular les plats du jour daily specials and events round out the offering, and mean you'll want to return again and again.
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The latest installation of the glamorous hit show is packed with dating drama, enviable fits, and lots of laughs.
A slice of Paris in Sydney is closer than you think, especially when we have ultra romantic venues like Armorica and Bistrot 916 right on our doorstep.
Once you’re finished filling up on some tres bien feasting, load up the newest season of Emily In Paris Season 4. If you’ve been following Emily since Chicago, you’ll remember the edge of your couch finale where she was torn between Gabriel and Alfie. We can’t wait to see who Emily picks now that Gabriel's revealed he’s expecting a baby with his ex and Alfie's worst fears about her and Gabriel have been confirmed.
This season promises even more drama, friendship, romance and damn good fashion. Catch Emily in Paris Part 1 only on Netflix from 15 August. Part 2 premieres 12 September.
Bouillon L’Entrecote
6 Loftus Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Bouillon L'Entrecote | Instagram
Sydney’s first bouillon-style eatery, Bouillon L’Entrecote sits between bistro and brasserie, serving classic French dishes at friendly prices, in a setting complete with French bistro chairs, tables covered in crisp white butcher’s paper and a ground-floor wine bar, all backgrounded by French jazz. Taking inspiration from Paris icon Le Relais de l’Entrecôte, steak frites is the hero dish on the menu: premium sirloin steak, served with a salad, home-cut fries, and a secret sauce.
The Saturday lunch prix fixe menu ($59 for two courses or $69 for three) is a great-value way to indulge in a French feast on the weekend, with classics like duck liver parfait, fish in sauce vierge and crème brulée on the cards.
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Gavroche
Level 1/2-10 Kensington Street, Chippendale
Image credit: Gavroche | Instagram
The menu at Gavroche is packed with big-hitting classics like pork confit, bowls of creamy mussels, and a whopping 450-gram chateaubriand steak—plus the very popular $45 steak frites with bottomless fries and a glass of wine, available for lunch Friday–Sunday.
The staff here are friendly and attentive and happy to guide you through their menu and suggest wines to go with each course. The grand finale is the crêpes Suzette: a bowl of freshly made crepes swimming in Grand Marnier sauce and orange slices set alight at your table.
Loulou Bistro
61 Lavender Street, Milsons Point
Loulou is part boulangerie, bistro, and traiteur—so there's a lot going on at this triple-act eatery. The sprawling French restaurant has a glam side with caviar service, a solid Champagne selection, as well as fun weekly offerings like happy hour, BYO wine on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and even bottomless lunches on weekend.
The menu stays classic, with chicken liver parfait served with warm brioche, French onion soup, a classic steak frites and, for dessert, apricot mille-feuille or rhubarb soufflé.
Bistro St Jacques
96 Pitt Street, Redfern
Image credit: Bistro St Jacques | Instagram
The little red bistro in Redfern has been serving its loyal clientele unpretentious, honest delicacies for a decade. Bistro St Jacques is another entry in the “timeless” French restaurant experience, with a lighter side thanks to its Southern French-inspired menu with less butter and cream and more olive oil, seafood and fresh vegetables.
The seared scallops with mushroom duxelle and gruyere have been a firm favourite since the beginning and there's a selection of natural, low-intervention, and organic wines, too. French cuisine is famously unfriendly to herbivores, but Bistro St Jacques offers a vegan degustation.
Porcine
268 Oxford Street, Paddington
Porcine is named after the French word for “pig-like” and, as you might have guessed, pork is the name of the game here. Owner and head chef Nicholas Hill and Harry Levy have converted the old Micky’s cafe on Oxford Street into a swanky wood-panelled affair, and, with their stripes earned at hatted and Michelin-starred restaurants in Sydney and London, their technique truly sings. Each fortnight an entire pig is delivered to the restaurant, and every single part of it is used to create ham, terrines, prime cuts and more.
For something really special, plan ahead for the canard à la presse: a roasted duck served in a range of preparations including the legs in a casserole of shallots, mushrooms and madeira, the neck a sausage, and the breast perfectly portioned, finished in a sauce thickened with the duck's blood. It's available just once a day and needs to be pre-ordered.
Armorica
490 Crown Street, Surry Hills
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Image credit: Armorica | Supplied
Armorica is a 150-seat French restaurant by Andrew Becher, who operates Euro-inspired venues Franca and Parlar in Potts Point. Bringing Parisian energy to Surry Hills, Armorica serves the best of Aussie seafood and meat prepared with respect to the techniques and heritage of Northern France, with a whole menu section dedicated to steak frites.
This glam French restaurant has opulent, timber-detailed ceilings, hand-crafted European oak joinery, and deep red leather banquettes, all custom-designed and hand-made in Sydney. Don't skip the signature gold-dusted chocolate bar dessert with Valrhona chocolate mousse, salted caramel and choc chip cookie.
Felix
2 Ash Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Felix | Website
Felix is pretty much the closest thing you can get to being in France without getting your passport out. Surrounded by shelves of wine and under the glow of French-imported chandeliers, you can select your meal from the iced-up seafood bar that serves as the dining room's main attraction.
It’s Merivale's take on a luxe French restaurant and offers extravagant dishes like whole rock lobster, côte de boeuf, and two kinds of caviar. Next door is Little Felix, a Parisian-style speakeasy specialising in roaring '20s-inspired cocktails and indulgences.
Chouchou
13 O'Brien Street, Bondi
Image credit: Chouchou | Supplied
An ode to home by Parisian ex-pat Arthur Gruselle, Chouchou is an intimate French restaurant bringing favourites to its foliage-adorned dining room, atrium, and terrasse-style footpath seating.
Pair a DIY raclette, croque madame or hand-cut steak tartare with a wine (the list spans France, Australia and New Zealand) or iconic France-inspired cocktail—perhaps a Green Valley with gin, absinthe, apple, lemon and lime; or a Violette with violet syrup, gin, peach schnapps and lemon.
Whalebridge
8–10 East Circular Quay, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Whalebridge | Instagram
If your dream of France is less Paris and more Côte d'Azur, Whalebridge's million-dollar harbour views are definitely for you.
The food follows a fuss-free French ethos, serving up playful French bistro dishes and plenty of seafood including Sydney rock oysters, chilled prawns, and a seafood platter, plus mains like moules marinieres and lobster thermidor.
Bistro Cocotte
78 Ramsay Street, Haberfield
Image credit: Bistro Cocotte | Instagram
Unmissable for its striped red-and-white awning, Bistro Cocotte surprises and delights at every turn. It’s owned and run by a Korean-born chef who has had a passion for French cuisine since childhood and perfected his skills over ten years in France, earning a degree in culinary skills at Le Cordon Bleu and working in restaurants throughout the country.
Indeed, Cocotte has become a firm local favourite since opening, with an all-star lineup of classic French dishes executed with flair and a focus on rich, complex flavours.
Bistro Papillon
98 Clarence Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Bistro Papillon | Instagram
Helmed by two Frenchmen who met working in a French restaurant in the UK, Bistro Papillon is a tribute to classic French cooking and hospitality.
With ingredients sourced from France and the markets and butchers of Sydney, the pair pride themselves on simple French classics like duck confit, beef bourguignon, and escargot—plus an epic assortment of French wine. It’s a cosy, welcoming place perfect for a hearty feast.
Franca
Shop 2/81 Macleay Street, Potts Point
Image credit: Franca | Instagram
With foundations in classic French cooking, but a library of flavours and food stories from all the neighbouring beaches of the Mediterranean, Franca is a French restaurant that covers a lot of ground, with a few surprises thrown in; think spanner crab and corn Portuguese tarts, duck a l'orange with buckwheat and witlof, and whole rock lobster with spaghetti and roasted tomato.
Expect Parisian charm in the spacious dining room, with cherry red velvet chairs, bold green leather booths, lashings of marble, parquetry flooring and brass accents. There's live jazz on Wednesday nights, and a bougie French take on the Sunday roast offering chateubriand tenderloin paired with seasonal sides.
Chez Blue
599 Darling Street, Rozelle
Image credit: Chez Blue | Supplied
Chez Blue is a character-filled and relaxed French restaurant with a chic dining room and intimate cocktail bar. The dining room is stylish but comfortable with cosy booths, bentwood chairs, mosaic floors, and textured walls adorned with moody, vintage wall lighting and authentic Parisian flea market artworks.
The menu focuses on shared food, with revamped classics like Niçoise-inspired tuna tartare topped with a potato galette disc; whole fish topped with clams, lemon vinaigrette and sea herbs; and Parisian gnocchi with herb crème fraîche and spring vegetables. French calls for a few glasses of the good stuff, so the drinks list offers approachable Gallic drops, a cocktail list of on-theme French aperitifs, and signature sips like a must-try croissant-washed martini.
Beckett's
134A Glebe Point Road, Glebe
While it isn't strictly a French restaurant, there's such a hefty dose of Gallic influence at Beckett's that we think it's worth a mention—and the cavernous dining room with its original brick ceiling could absolutely be a cave de vin somewhere in the French countryside.
Start with a mini cocktail before moving on to starters of goose rillettes or seared foie gras with poached strawberries, and move on to dijon-roasted Wagyu rump with bearnaise or duck a l'orange. Happy hour runs in the piano lounge between 5pm and 7pm, and even offers complimentary canapes like crab crostini.
Manon Brasserie
55/455 George Street, Sydney CBD
In the stately Queen Victoria Building, Manon Brasserie exudes old-world charm. Think red leather banquettes, brass and aged bronze accents, warm timber furnishings and a marble bar, plus lots of outdoor seating for sunny afternoons savouring one of their viral Vahlrona chocolate chauds with whipped cream. Did we mention it's open from morning coffee and viennoiseries to dinner and late-night cocktails? How French.
On the breakfast menu, you'll find croque monsieurs, Brittany-style crepes, omelettes, crab on toast and, of course, French toast. Lunch and dinner includes a raw bar with caviar, oysters shucked to order, and brasserie classics like beef tartare, bone marrow tartine, steak frites, and duck a l'orange.
Bistro Rex
50/58 Macleay Street, Potts Point
Included in our best of Potts Point restaurants list, French restaurant Bistro Rex is an easy, European hang-out. Executive Chef Jo Ward is a butchery specialist, meaning their cuts are choice, and their steak frites are some of the best in town.
You can BYO wine, and their three-c0urse menu (available for groups under eight) is an absolute steal at $65pp, offering choices like pork and pistachio terrine, a Wagyu cheeseburger and creme caramel.
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Main image credit: Bistro St Jacques | Instagram
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