After a coolish sunset drive out under the stars to the big country skies, we enter the white weatherboard cottage that is Le Tres Bon. With a 10-metre walk from our curbside park to the front door, we could just as easily have parked our little car outside any cute little roadside diner in the middle of rural France. Except that this cute little diner is just past the Ugg boot store in Bungendore. The waiter, who looks like he just landed in town himself, greets us with a cheerful "bonsoir". We feel the anticipation that we are about to join his family for a delicious French meal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There are lovely aromas wafting through the building and we take a seat at the chequerboard clothed table and relax with a tall glass of Kronenbourg and a Kir Royal. From our table we can see the very large Le Creuset-style grey pots holding an assortment of braises, stews and soups for the winter menu. Chef Christophe is working in there in his starched white chef jacket, burgundy red apron and crisp white chef's hat. He has been cooking here since 2007 and there is no tomfoolery with the menu, just old-fashioned French classics. It is no accident that there is a well-read copy of Larousse Gastronomique on the shelf.
The menu is three courses for $90 and there is a choice of five within each course, and our very French-sounding waiter (although he may well be from Queanbeyan, as far as we know at this point) takes our order promptly.
Beef tartare is a traditional "Bouchon Lyonnais" bistro dish and is finely formed with symmetrically cut raw beef fillet. The dish is simple yet luxurious. Sliced and scattered with capers, flecks of onion, parsley and maybe a hint of mustard, it is bound together with raw egg yolk. This particular version comes spiked with some cornichons and garnished with the cutest little heart-shaped beetroot slice. The seasoning could be sharper, but it's technically very good.
French onion soup can be a very complex dish despite its simplicity. I've had a brilliant version which uses farmhouse apple cider to enhance its complexity, but tonight's edition is more on the simple side, with a pepperiness that throws it slightly off balance. The gruyere is melted on top of the bread rather than gratineed and oozing over the sides and again, whilst still very tasty, the opportunity to make something amazingly complex is replaced by a simpler version. Rumour also has it that "French onion soup" is just called "onion soup" in France. But I'm still not convinced that less is more.
The room fills up with locals and visitors by the time our mains arrive, and the small dining room is well served by the two highly capable floor staff. It looks as if there are only two chefs in the kitchen and this small team works together like the Conciergerie Clock. Cassoulet comes in a large thick brown bowl and is a combination of very well-seasoned duck, lamb neck and pork sausage, swimming over a lake of white beans. Taking its name from its cooking pot, the cassole d'Issel, and originating in Languedoc in southwest France, cassoulet was once simple farmhouse fare, but it can also achieve great heights of deliciousness, which this one certainly does. Thickened with some breadcrumbs, this is magnifique. Washed down with a generous glass of Bandol ($25), it really is tres exquisite.
Beef Carbonnade is a classic from northern France, and the menu describes it as "heartwarming and deeply satisfying". Large chunks of beef are braised in beer and ginger bread spices and the texture is firm but tender and moist. It does make the heart warm, but again is on the simpler side for flavour. But perhaps that's just part of the charm at Le Tres Bon. What you see is what you get.
The tarte du jour, or in this case tarte du soir, is a plum clafoutis with vanilla bean icecream and it has my name written all over it. I once tried to cook this dessert myself and produced a scrambled egg rock cake. This version is scrumptious. The plums are warm and have not split and the custard base is creamy, yet savoury with just a hint of sweetness. Crepe Suzette is another technical triumph and I can safely say that chef Christophe has flipped quite a few of these here over the past 16 years.
As we are departing, we are keen to discover the origins of our waiter. It turns out that he arrived in Bungendore "last Wednesday", is the third great cousin of Christophe and has two seasons of experience in Corsica. Given the labour crisis in the city, let alone the country, this is a great cross-cultural initiative. We jump back into our Citroen (sorry, I mean sedan) and as we turn left off Gibraltar Street back towards Canberra, there is a sign on the side of the road that says "au revoir". On reflection, there is a chance that I may have misread that sign. But also on reflection, I may need to return for more cassoulet in a few weeks time. It will probably taste even better in a new pair of Ugg boots.
Le Tres Bon
Address: 40 Malbon St, Bungendore
Phone: 6238 0662
Website: letresbon.com.au
Hours: Thursday dinner, Friday lunch and dinner, Saturday dinner, Sunday lunch
Chef: Christophe Gregoire
Noise: No problem
Dietary: A few options
Score: 14/20
Want more recipe ideas? We've got a tasty offering that'll leave you satisfied. Enjoy it here. Bookmark the page so you've got a wide selection at your fingertips next time you're hitting the kitchen.
