tubbymasu.com

The fish and chips: whole, fried whiting atop a latticed mat of obese chips

When Mr Tubbymaster chose Bistro Guillaume for our first date, little did he know that this elegant French brasserie was my favourite restaurant at the time. Whether it was fabulous taste or sheer luck, he remains my partner-in-eating to this day.

Bistro Guillaume is classy in every way: from the attentive wait staff to the flowing light fixtures and sublimely good food.

The signature dish—whole, fried whiting splayed across a latticed mat of morbidly obese chips—may look spectacular but the dish that really sings is also the most expensive on the menu. The beef tenderloin with Paris mash and merlot jus, at $50, is one very delicious piece of cow, the food equivalent of skipping through clouds or swimming in chocolate. It’s so good, you’ll soon forget you paid so much for the privilege of eating it. The steak frites, sauce a la bordelaise, is also pretty tasty—crisp fries, nice scotch fillet—but it is the tenderloin that holds my heart.

If you really don’t want to pay $50 for a steak, try the midweek dinner special. Between 6 pm and 7 pm, Monday to Thursday, you can have two courses, a glass of wine and the place to yourself, for $30. The choices are obviously limited with this special—my steak frites sadly made me fantasise about the tenderloin—but the crumble du jour (apple and blueberry) was heaven in a dish: the perfect post-work dinner.

RULE #1: Always leave room for dessert.

RULE #2: Have a pre-dinner drink in the trés sophisticated Le Bar, downstairs.

The scallop special

The charcuterie plate

Beef tenderloin: So good, my iPhone couldn't cope

Steak frites, as part of the $30 dinner special

The crumble du jour, as part of the $30 dinner special