Charlotte Bar & Bistro

From the Azabu group, Charlotte is a luxurious and handsome French-inspired bistro in McMahons Point.

Here, you can indulge in classic French staples—like warm baguette and butter, tartare de boeuf mixed tableside, saucisson, chicken and duck liver parfait served with brioche, and, of course, steak frites. 

And with Michelin-trained, ex-LuMi Dining chef Hiroshi Manaka at the helm, you can expect some more avant-garde, Japanese influences to shine through on the menu too. Like the gyoza escargot—a snail gyoza with bone marrow, spinach, and red wine jus. 

The signature dish at Charlotte is the Boeuf En Croûte Royal—decadent duck and beef wrapped in fois gras, mushroom, and crisp puff pastry. If you're keen to try it, you'll need to plan ahead as Charlotte requires 24 hour's notice for this impressive dish. 

To drink, Charlotte does an impressive range of signature cocktails like the "Ducks In A Row", with foie gras-washed Tesseron “Tradition” Cognac, the "Painted Lady" with St Germain and peach sherbert, and the Espresso Martini-inspired "Cafe No Lait" with Underground Spirits caramel vodka, coffee liqueur, espresso, and kokuto (Japanese dark brown sugar). 

Meanwhile, the wine list covers all the notable French regions, like Loire Valley, Chablis, Rhône, and Provence, with a few Aussie drops thrown in for good measure. 

Lunch service is available on weekends and there's a wallet-friendly banquet menu for groups of four or larger for $89 per person. 

Charlotte joins a handful of ambitious new venues opening in North Sydney's harbourside suburbs, like Poetica, Rafi, and Loulou.  

For more great French restaurants in Sydney, head over here. 

Image credit: Charlotte | Supplied