Being housed inside a 137-year-old church might be one of August’s main drawcards, but it’s certainly not the only one. Honest, flavoursome cooking underpins the West End restaurant’s raison d’être – an apt term given August’s mostly French-leaning menu.
Take their omelette, inspired by the Savoy Grill’s famous creation for novelist Arnold Bennett in 1929. August’s version features layers of soft scrambled egg, sweet Hervey Bay mud crab, crab béchamel, and hollandaise, crowned with Gruyère cheese. Grilled to bubbling, caramelised perfection, it’s a rich, cheesy, crab-packed delight.
Chef Brad Cooper’s penchant for the classics doesn’t end there. He takes a crown of chicken, stuffs foie gras beneath the skin, roasts it, and serves it with pois à la Française (peas braised in butter with bacon, onion and lettuce). He also expertly grills a Barnsley chop, a double-sided lamb chop, and pairs it with tender leeks vinaigrette and a vibrant mint sauce.
As first-time restaurant owners, Cooper and his partner, Matilda Riek, showed remarkable courage taking over a church and converting it into a restaurant. Their hard work has paid off; churches, it turns out, make wonderful restaurants. High ceilings, stained-glass windows, and polished timber floorboards provide an elegant framework, while white tablecloths, fresh flowers, mid-century furniture, and bright artwork on the walls add warmth.
Cooper’s previous role as head chef at pescatarian wine bar, Bar Francine, means his vegetable and seafood game is strong. Skordalia, a Greek garlic and potato dip, is topped with pickled fennel fritti for dipping, while flakes of confit trout are scattered over tender Dutch cream potatoes and fresh watercress, dressed in a tangy caviar sauce.
While rich flavours are abundant, Cooper’s ability to provide balance is key. Blue cheese cheesecake and Pedro Ximénez jelly, served with fruit toast, treads the line between savoury and sweet. Meanwhile,
a square of caramelised brioche, drizzled with golden syrup, is topped with a dollop of lemon-infused cultured cream for freshness.
Many restaurants these days make it overwhelming to choose a drink. August simplifies the choice with a two-sided A4 page, featuring small, predominantly Australian wine producers like Sentio and Vignerons Schmölzer and Brown, along with marigold amaro from Saison Aperitifs and table beer from Wildflower.
August is charming, unpretentious, and entirely focused on what’s most important in hospitality right now: making you feel comfortable. Something special is happening inside this former house of worship. It’s worth a pilgrimage.
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