Le Boulevard French Restaurant

As regulars, we keep coming back to this little gem because of its very trad atmosphere, genuine warmth from the owners and tres French eats! Run by an older couple (the guy's a French cook with his wife doing front of house and the waitresses are fresh off the plane from Paris), it evokes all those little French eateries that you loved when you did the trip and guess what! It's closer than a 23 hour flight.

Warning: it's not the cheapest place but most restaurants charge $28 for mains so hey, if you're used to it then that's their average. plus they do generous serves and the sides and bread are FOC. We tend to go for the salmon in dill with their roasted veg and then there's the grill with cous cous (if that's on the special list) and the lamb ...and then there's the desserts - classics such as chocolate mousse and creme brulee sound a little dull but when done well...just heaven! Yes, Le Boulevarde isn't a contemporary interior and it's not chic in an eastern suburbsy sense, if that's what you're seeking, but it's certainly authentic. And that's a damnn good thing in this inauthentic world. I love it after a stressful day at work (and there are plenty of regulars who feel the same including the elderly couple who like to come with the dog...the dog sits outside on a chair looking lovingly through the window at them ...and I really can imagine that I've taken the trip and I'm a million miles away from...well, Avalon. Go on, if you're a Francophile, you'll love it. And even if you're not, you'll still like it.
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008