Brasserie Gavroche

For foodies with a careful eye, Singapore can appear like Paris on a good day, especially if you keep a garlicky Gallic nose out for French-style cafes and restaurants in among Tanjong Pagar’s warren of streets. Among the many French dining possibilities in the city, Brasserie Gavroche is exemplary for its perfectly tuned sense of the authentic French brasserie’s look and feel. The restaurant’s effortlessly chic premises down Tras Street are matched by a stunning menu put together by head chef and owner Frederic Colin, using recipes gleaned from his grandfather Henri’s vast archive. Indeed, Brasserie Gavroche’s success has spawned a smaller cafe just a few doors down, Cafe & Bar Gavroche. Book for bonhomie now!

It’s as is chef-owner Frederic Colin has brought a chromatograph of fin de siecle Parisian street culture to life at his fabulously raffish Brasserie Gavroche down Tanjong Pagar’s restaurant-packed Tras Street. A long carved and polished wooden bar, complete with brass beer taps and a mirrored backbar stacked with impeccably chosen French vintages, tiled floors, white tablecloth-topped tables and leather banquettes, and the ephemera of a life as a French restaurateur plucked from Colin’s grand pere Henri’s collections of photographs and curios set the scene for one of Singapore’s most authentic French dining experiences.

And, as a French brasserie proper, the price tag attached to a simple meal, quick drink and a snack with friends, or a more ornate restaurant sitting won’t have your turning up your nose, either. Be sure to pore over Brasserie Gavroche’s long wine list, and don’t shy from asking the wait staff to help you match your choice of courses with a glass or two plucked from the very best of French wineries. All aspects of typical French brasserie cuisine are represented on the menu, from cold and warm appetisers, salads, meat and fish main courses – not to mention delectable desserts and a classic French fromagerie sampler. Highlights at this Tanjong Pagar brasserie include the half dozen Majestic oysters by Jacques Cocollos, the king crab with green beans and a white cheese vinaigrette, a classic Nicoise salad, confit duck and the ribeye steak with Bearnaise sourced from grass-fed Irish Angus stock, and grandfather Henri’s special fish quenelles with crayfish sauce. Be sure to book well in advance lest you have to relocate to the nearby Cafe & Bar Gavroche!