78 Williams Road, Prahran
Phone 03 9525 2178
From what I hear, photos of the food at Jacques Reymond are pretty hard to come by, especially when waiters are charged with instructions to politely inform photo-taking diners that the Chef does not allow such things to happen in his restaurant. Ahem.
As luck would have it, a friend of mine threw a private function 50th 21st birthday party for his wife, and as everyone was taking photos of the birthday girl, I was, er, taking photos of the food. Ooops. Thing is, Mr.Reymond has ever such nice looking food, and it would be a shame not to share it with you all.
Jacques Reymond (the restaurant, not the man) is elegant and divine, in only the way a big old Victorian mansion can be. Just walking up the drive gave a sense of “big occassion”, as did the Maitre’d who greeted us warmly and ushered us down the verandah.
As we relaxed in the sun dappled front courtyard, sipping bubbles from delicately stemmed glasses, fist-sized Gougeres were served and greatly admired for their cheesy airy puffiness.
Once the birthday girl arrived (it was a surprise birthday), we retired to one of the upstairs rooms for dinner.
The menu offered a choice of three entrees, mains and dessert – which provided ample choice for the variety of guests at the party.
I chose an interesting mix of tempura’d togarashi scampi, grilled scallops, black gnocchi, fennel and watercress foam. It was delicate, light and a nice way to kick off the meal.
Dan went with the “Senses of the sea and earth, sweet and sour”, which consisted of steamed pacific oysters with lime and vodka egg dressing, a seaweed crystal, terrine of foie gras and sauternes. The seaweed crystal was ingenious – a crunchy wafer of sweetish biscuity seaweed, laying over the oysters like a lid. Thick melba-like toasts sat to the side.
For mains I chose “Western plains suckling pig of 10 hours, contrasts”, a dense slab of falling-to-bits pork, sitting on a couple of stems of white asparagus, and spiced coffee espuma (foam) on top. To the side, two discs of roast potato, a cube of apple jelly, a slice of caramalised apple with mint and a dollop of balsamic and another of cider.
Dan had the “Tasmanian ocean trout and octopus kakiage”, three magnificent slices of grilled trout sealed with a skin of crisp spring onion (or leek). In the corner, a tempura of vegetable and octupus (takoyaki-ish), a round of baby eggplant scattered with bonito flakes, and a candied sour lemon granita. A stunning combination.
For dessert I chose the cinnamon chocolate mousse and hazelnut meringue, strawberries with pure Cuba, honey sabayon and pistachio ice cream. It looked a treat, but didn’t wow me so much with the flavours.
Dan chose a winner again with a caramalised pear with mild spices, grand marnier truffles, almond praline, the essence of vanilla. The spices on top included pink peppercorns, which added a nice little hit of heat. The spun sugar decorations and the praline were gorgeous.
The cheese platter was delectable – a great selection of French brie, barolo (with vine leaves), goats cheese, and a mild blue, served with a selection of breads, pear slices and small grapes.
At the end of the meal, the petits fours also delighted. They included some pistachio macarons, licorice jellies, lemon tartlets topped with a blueberry, white truffles coated in crushed almonds and pistachios, squares of almondine slice and squares of chocolate slice.
That looks amazing! Great post!
xox Sarah
I was lucky enough to have a work sponsored dinner at Jacques Reymond and THE Jacques came out so we could have our photos taken with him. We had the 12 course degustation and I’m glad to see that the petit fours haven’t changed much, I was very excited to see pistachio macarons at the end of the night after daydreaming about them all day.
Not easy to get into. I just tried to get a booking four weeks away and they’re already booked out, sigh.
I first went to Jacq Reymond in 2000 and recently went back again in April…and it is definately is one of the best places to dine at. Presentation is awesome but I’d have to say the food lacks ‘wow’ factor for me too…maybe there’s something wrong with my tongue.. A few of us had the Venison (not sure if it was on your menu)….but it was so-so only.
I’d have to say Ezard at Adelphi Hotel is my favourite. You been there? The pork hock is a must-try..(it is constantly on the menu)…
Good on you Mellie for being a rebel. I want to try the food at Jacques and really wanted to see some photos just to get a feel for it.
Hey Sarah – thanks for that! I was actually quite surprised with the food. There I was expecting heavy, saucy, buttery French fare, and instead we got these lovely, delicate and somewhat Japanese influenced dishes.
Hi Shannon – dang, where do you work? Are they hiring?
I must admit I love a petit four, and I too look forward to what may surprise at the end of a meal.
Hello neil – wow, looks like the global financial crisis is not affecting restaurant bookings
Hey Van – no, I actually haven’t been to Ezard at Adelphi yet (I know, I know…shock!). Dan has been, and absolutely loved it. But it’s on my list!
Hi Thanh – well, you have a feel now
As I said in the comment to Sarah above, the food is rather delicate, complex and refined. That being said, it is also not to everyones style. In other words, don’t go expecting bistro fare. This is high end dining.
Good work on the photos, they took my SLR the other day, so I couldn’t take any photos.
Hi akwoo – they took your SLR?!? Dang…they are getting VERY serious!
Went to Jacques Reymond last week as a work event with a 7 course degustation menu. Was very good, classy and unfussy food. Unlike Vue De Monde and Attica, every dish works well. Does this meean it isn’t risky? perhaps not, but there are some adventurous flavours and combinations, but nothing too contrived or clever for the sake of being clever which i liked.
I still shake my head with “what were they thinking” over Vue De Monde’s Steak with Chickpea chips, I mean, what is wrong with Potato! and if you are going to do chickpea chips, ensure they are an improvement (BTW They were not). Same goes with Attica’s “Terroir” dish which for me was appalling, I mean when the waiter serves a meal and tells you the head chefs wife doesn’t like it and it isn’t to everyones taste then why the hell put it on the menu?
It is that type of arrogance that really annoys me about some of the fine dining establishments in Melbourne. That if you don’t like something you are a philistine, when in fact it is quite clear, it simply does not work.
So anyway, back to Jacques Reymond, I would say for me the closest match is not the neighbourly restaurants, but Restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian Spain which has 3 Michelin Stars. I would say Jacques Reymond has service on parity with a relaxed, confident and accomodating team and environment with Arzak, the food is close, Arzak gets the nod on the food by a bit of a margin, but Jacques Reymond gives a similar experience.
Thanks for your comment JP. Arrogance is often a fine line though, and sometimes it is the essential ingredient to many an inventive dish I’ve had. One of the best dining experiences I’ve had was at Vue de Monde, and I just love Bennett’s confidence (and arrogance) with not only his food, but the whole restaurant experience. Conceeded, I have heard of some special event dining experiences at his restaurant that make me think “oh dear”, that are perhaps just a wee bit too precocious.
Such as, at Guiseppe Arnaldo and Sons serving up a block of chocolate, still in its packaging, for dessert. They don’t even unwrap it for you!
Anyway, I digress. Jacques Reymond is certainly a delighftul experience. But I’d dare say he toes that fine line of arrogance, similar to Bennett – especially in his experimention with some rather interesting Asian ingredients. Sometimes they work, and sometimes, like the chickpea chips you had at VDM, they don’t. Thing is, if Chef’s continue to only use potatoes for their chips, then where is the fun in that?
Hey this is weird- I took a camera in there and was happily snapping away at the food without a tut-tut from the waiters! At first I was cautious after reading ur blog, but then everyone started taking their cameras out (albeit to snap at Jacques and not at the food!)
Maybe that’s cos my camera is not an SLR
That’s good to hear! Perhaps he’s lightened up a bit