Hold the phones, Sydney – Guillaume Brahimi is bringing breakfast to the CBD. From tomorrow, Wednesday 7 September, the chef will serve breakfast and lunch at a new branch of Bistro Guillaume. This will be the third Bistro Guillaume (following Melbourne and Perth), the chef’s fifth restaurant in total (alongside his Paddington fine-diner Guillaume and Four in Hand by Guillaume), but the first of his ventures to offer a morning meal.
The 130-seat site, located on George Street in the Suncorp Building, is also home to Brahimi’s first pâtisserie, which (in news that’ll be very welcome to the cube-warrior set) has a large takeaway counter. There’ll be the familiar salad, soup du jour and sandwich options for the office workers dashing out to grab a quick bite, as well as croque-monsieurs, whole tarts to go, sweet and savoury brioche and a full selection of Iggy’s bread (baguettes and loaves for your next dinner party without the trip to Bronte? Winning).
“I hope people will want to pop in for a croissant and coffee in the morning, a classic tartine or cheese soufflé for lunch, and then a perfect steak frites with a great bottle of wine at night,” says Brahimi. “I think what we have created is unique in this city. It’s a comfortable bistro for everyone, at any time.”
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Pastry display at Bistro Guillaume Sydney.
Interior designer Blainey North is responsible for the bistro’s design. The room channels La Belle Époque with duck-egg blue leather chairs, timber and bronze finishes and chandelier lighting. “I’ve been dreaming of opening one of my bistros in Sydney for years, and it has finally happened,” says Brahimi, a Sydney resident of many years’ standing.
At dinner, Brahimi classics such as the twice-baked cheese soufflé with Roquefort sauce will be served alongside newer dishes including lamb Pithiviers, and sweets from a dessert trolley stacked high with lemon tarts, Valrhona chocolate mousse and light-as-air Paris-Brest.
There are also whispers (and this could be wishful thinking on our part) that Brahimi has considered freighting in Melbourne’s famed Lune croissants, offering Sydneysiders a first taste of the golden pastries, quite probably the best of their kind in the country.
Bistro Guillaume begins trade Wednesday 7 September for breakfast and lunch Monday to Friday, and dinner Saturday nights. The bistro will open in the evenings six nights a week from October.
Bistro Guillaume, 259 George St, Sydney, NSW, (02) 8622 9555, bistroguillaumesydney.com.au; breakfast Mon-Fri 7am-10.30am, lunch Mon-Fri 11.45am-3pm, dinner Sat 5pm-8pm.
