It’s coming up to crazy season, that’s right, Christmas is almost upon us! December is a hectic time and Christmas meet ups with friends seem to happen in November as December fills up months in advance. When Kath asked our group whether we’d like to go to Baroque Bistro, the brand spanking, new and shiny thing on the block owing to some miracle of planning there was a date we were all free in November. Baroque Bistro is by the same people that own La Renaissance, the lovely patisserie in The Rocks and rumour had it that you could watch all the chefs baking all sorts of goodies in the window and on the other side, there was a beautiful view of the harbour. It’s open 7 days a week from 8am til late and given the location and view, the prices are a veritable steal.
Our waiter explains that there is only the duck leg available in the duck dish tonight which is usually duck done two ways making it a duck done one way only so we bypass it. Trish, Kath and I are eager to share so that we can try more so we order a few things that we all like the sound of or are curious about. The waiter is a tad confused about our need to share as he wants to assign each position in the table with a dish and this results in a main going missing a little later.
We try some baguette with oil and salt while we await our food. I don’t eat much of this although the bread is nice and fresh. I know we have 3 courses to come!
Snail and asparagus salad,baby spinach, orange segments $13
The baby spinach and asparagus salad is flecked with snails and orange segments and is well dressed. The snails have a soft, slightly chewy texture similar to a clam or other mollusc.
Black pudding on puff pastry with roasted apples $15
The black pudding on puff pastry with roasted apples was something that Kath was particularly curious about as she had never tried black pudding, or blood pudding. It’s tasty indeed and the sweetness of the apples goes well with the crunch of the pastry and the rich saltiness of the black pudding.
Baked eggs, porcini cream, toasted baguette $13
I try some of Trissa’s baked eggs which aren’t bad although I don’t tend to order egg dishes as I prefer meat and fish. There doesn’t appear to be quite enough baguette for the serve though.
Poached chicken, witlof, mango, soy vinaigrette $16
Ellie’s poached chicken salad is delicious with tender chicken and a salad with an Asian-ey flavour to it via the soy and sesame dressing although it does seem unusual to see this dish in a French restaurant.
Ocean trout fillet, carrot puree $24
The favourite dish of the night is the ocean trout. As soon as we all try it we moan in pleasure. The ocean trout is soft and perfect against the silky carrot puree and fresh herbs. There’s even talk of us ordering a second serve of this particularly as a mix up means that our lamb rack arrives 20 minutes after the rest of the mains.
Braised beef cheeks, roast parsnip $25
The braised beef cheeks are lovely and rich and soft with a thick sauce and the batons of parsnip sit in a thick, gelatinous sauce. I’m particularly fond of slow cooked meat as it’s so soft and warming. It’s perfectly lovely although it was never going to stand up next to the perfection of the ocean trout.
Lamb rack, potatoes gratin dauphonoise and jus $29
The lamb rack which arrives later is tender and beautifully cooked. The potatoes aren’t bad although they are a little dry in texture.
Butcher’s cut of beef, fries, eschallot jus $25
I don’t try any of the beef (today’s cut is rump) but the fries are hand cut and nicely seasoned. Ellie ordered it medium rare and half of it looks cooked through whereas one half was medium rare.
Creamy Paris mash $6
Sadly the Paris mash is bland and whipped light and most of this is left behind. Kath remarks that it tastes like Deb and truth be told it does a bit 
Green salad, vinaigrette, garlic croutons $6
Vanilla creme brulee, pistachio ice cream $13
We were very much looking forward to dessert and so we dig into this. The obligatory photo taking means that the pistachio ice cream had melted into almost a pool but our first instinct is that it tastes much more like almond than pistachio. The brulee is very eggy with only the faintest crack and it’s especially strong in egg white.
Croquettes of chocolate, caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream $13
The croquette breading on the outside is quite savoury in flavour much like savoury croquettes and the oil has that same savoury croquette flavour. It’s not bad although I’d like a sweet biscuit crumb or sweet brioche crumb. Once we break it open the chocolate oozes out like lava.
Breton shortbread with apple and nougatine, apple coulis $15
I had to order this – well you might know me and my fetish for apple desserts. Quite frankly I’m obsessed. This dessert is my favourite. The best part of this for me is the nougatine which is deliciously crunchy, nutty and caramel-y and it comes with a mousse which when combined with the apple (which is as soft as poached pear) and the crunchy nougatine and powdery dust of the breton shortbread, produces a nice sensation indeed. The mini macarons however are really just for decoration as they are rather hard.
The chef thoughtfully brings out a plate of colourful macarons. We are given chocolate, lemon, jasmine, cassis, passionfruit chocolate, vanilla strawberry, olive oil & avocado and olive oil, avocado & chocolate. The Jasmine is my favourite most undoubtedly as I love jasmine macarons having been spellbound by one at Herme in Paris. This one is fragrantly lovely and distinctly jasmine. The macarons here are harder on the outside, some are quite hard whereas others are softer. I also like the olive oil and avocado as it’s true to flavour and unusual.
So tell me Dear Reader, are you looking forward to Christmas? What will you do this year?
Baroque Bistro & Patisserie
88 George Street The Rocks, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9241 4811
Open 7 days 8am til midnight
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41 Comments | Add your own
hopefully leaving to meet my daughter.. depends on my husbands work.. btw great place!! love to visit one day!
cheers!
It was a great evening. I have to mention this again that all the waiters and chefs are good looking Europeans
The rump wasn’t a good cut and it was a little disappointing especially I just had the best chateaubriand at Prime the week before.
You know that I’m going straight to the patisserie sector!!
Odd that the outside of the croquettes of chocolate are little savoury, for my taste they’d be sweeter too.
Anyway the place looks phenomenal
Cheers!
Gera
I am so looking forward to Christmas this year. We will travel to my parent’s vineyard in the Hunter Valley and this year all my siblings and their families will be there. Family and food… fabulous.
Random Question: Isn’t it hot for ya’ll when you have Christmas? Is that weird?
Such a fabulous restaurant review! I wish I could go there and eat all the food right now. I just got so hungry!
Nice bistro . I too would prefer the apple dessert. This Christmas nothing special just lots of baking
I love the picture of the macarons- so festive and colourful. I love Christmas as it means making lots of food to give as gifts- I love making truffles and biscuits. It also means everyone is happy and in giving at this time of year.
Yum! I’d order the black pudding, the beef cheeks and the apple dessert.
For Christmas, I am just looking forward to some down time
The apple dessert sounds really good – even if on first glance I thought it was some sort of open hot dog! The macarons are really pretty too with all the different colours. Cannot believe the size of that beef and chips – amazing! I think even my brothers would have trouble finishing that.
I saw this place reviewed in another blog yesterday and it looked pretty good, but Deb potato mash and an easily confused waiter? Not good!
They’ve got an unusual website too, no pictures!
http://www.baroquebistro.com.au/
Still, the baked eggs look good to me.
It was a fun night. I’m really glad I tried the black pudding. I want to cook with it now. Where is the best place for me to get good black pudding?
Yes, more bread for dipping into the runny eggs please =) Only two batons – boo!
my egg dish was really nice, i guess i was also forced to order this as well as there was only this or another vego option for me to take (i chose eggs cos i do love eggs so much hehe)
dessert was dissapointing i’d have to say but if i had to pick, the apple desert was the nicest
and i see what you mean when you said ‘putting light’ into the photo
great photo’s Lorraine !
I have to say, that lamb rach looks delicious! I’ll have to put this place on my ‘to visit’ list! Great review!
Oooh the sweets look delish!
This Christmas will be very casual, as it always is.
Christmas Eve we will go to my Mum’s for dinner, or we might have it here. We’re not sure yet.
And then Christmas morning will be spent at whichever house we didn’t go to the night before.
I assume we’ll then spend the rest of the day grazing and laying about. Perhaps a swim at the beach if we can find room amongst the backpackers!
hmm Not sure about xmas dinners this year… nothing quite so fancy! Dinner with the families, lots of salads and sparkling white wines… due to drink a NZ Rose that I need to drink
@Blond Duck – I think it would be WEIRDER to have a cold Xmas day!
Wonderful photos Lorraine, you really captured the feel of baroque! I was there on Wednesday night and absolutely adored the place. Those macarons were so delightful, the jasmine too was my favourite!
Looked like a fun night and the food appeared to be well presented
Hi, I love your blog but just to let you know, as I’m French, that it is not “black pudding” but “black boudin” or “boudin noir” in French and maybe it’s better not to translate it in English..
Keep giving us such a nice blog.
Caroline
What a fun time! All of the food looks incredible, especially your dessert (I love apple too)! I love all the different flavor/texture components!
Wauw that all looks amazing,great post! looking forward to lunch now,this makes me hungry!
The snail salad and eggs both look great. It’s a shame the croquette crumb wasn’t sweet though.
AGREE! Not enough batons for the eggs but overall a really great night – I think mostly because of the company. Happy Holidays!
I would definitely be curious to try the black pudding in puff pastry and the ocean trout sounds amazing here!
Recently tried the best black pudding from Tender Value Meats in Florence St Hornsby, I baked it whole in the oven (not sure if that is strictly the correct way of cooking it!) but it was not too fatty and very delicious. Hope Christmas will NOT be as hot as it is today otherwise we will be doing nothing but eating icecubes and lazing in front of the DVD player!
They didn’t seem very generous with the baguette for the egg dish, but the ocean trout sounds great. And I love apple desserts too! Mmm… Nov and Dec have filled up so quickly
Can’t wait for 2010 though, I will get to try a Jasmine flavoured macaron at Herme! YAy!!
Suddenly, I have this incredible craving for baked eggs and soldiers for breakfast tomorrow!
Apple desserts and macarons? Oh, yes: heaven!
The jasmine macarons look divine, I think i would have been swooning over that myself.
The apple dessert looks like a keeper
look at those people just standing around. time wasters! no, it looks like they put out some really outstanding stuff, so i’ll let their idling slide.
I’m going to be dreaming about that trout. Hopefully won’t wake up with a mouthful of pillow.
So looking forward to Christmas as it’s the first one I’ll be spending with my family in a few years! I’ll be heading up north to see them all, and any time not spent cooking or eating will be spent lying around moaning about how full I am
It’s going to be fabulous.
Hi Lorraine, Very timely review of Baroque as we’re headed this weekend. Now I know what to order, and more importantly, what to avoid! Christmas – same as every year. Singing at Midnight Mass at St Francis (Paddington) as well as Christmas Morning Mass; then lunch with very close friends, followed by Christmas drinks & nibbles at another set of friends’ place. Will somehow sneak in a phone call to the family in Perth somewhere along the line, of course!
Call me crazy, but I just don’t think I could eat that snail.
I’m just looking forward to having a few days off from school for Christmas – I get a four day weekend, and while I will have to go in for my internship on Christmas eve I really enjoy going and won’t be so sleep-deprived. I’m just planning to send some homemade goodies to friends and spend the time off with my boyfriend, who will have moved in with me by then. And then do it all again the next weekend as we have New Year’s eve and day off as well!
Hi nora-Thanks sounds like a fabulous Christmas!
Hi Ellie-Haha I missed which one caught your eye! Ahh yes a shame!
Hi Gera-Haha of course I’d expect no less! Yes I think brioche would be nice or oil where they don’t fry savouries. It is very pretty though!
Hi Amy-Oh how fabulous! It sounds like a perfect Christmas!
Hi Blond Duck -It sure is and it would be strange I guess for you if you came here! Not so strange for us
hi Stacy-Thankyou so much!
Hi snooky doodle-Yes I do love me an apple dessert
Sounds like a good Christmas!
Hi sandra-Oh good idea, I’m going to try and do that too
Hi Cakelaw-Good choices!
Now that would be nice!
Hi Alex-Haha you are too funny!
Yes it was a huge man-size serve! 
Hi joey-Yes I hope it’s just teething problems! Strange because the place is very pretty!
Hi Katherine-You can buy it at a butchers-let me know if you can’t find it and I can point you in the right direction
Hi ms délicieuse-I know, way too small!
Hi Betty-Yah you poor thing!
Yeah the apple dessert was definitely the pick 
Thanks!
Hi Highlands Foodie-Oh cool1 I hope you enjoy your meal
Hi fat mum slim-I loved the jasmine macaron and the apple dessert!
Sounds like a lovely Christmas and more importantly relaxing! 
Hi Fiona-Hey that sounds ideal!
Hi LaiRe-Thankyou so much! Great minds think alike!
Hi Kay-Yes the presentation was lovely!
Hi Caroline-Thanks! They translated it to black pudding which is what it tasted like to me! Thanks
Hi Faith-Hehe I know, I always drool at your apple recipes!
Hi Beau-Thanks so much Beau!
Hi Arwen-Yes that would have made them perfect!
Hi Trissa-Yes great night and great company!
Happy Holidays!
Hi 5 Star Foodie- It’s a great idea and one that’s easy enough to make at home too!
hi Moya-Oh great idea! I must try that one day too!
I know, let’s hope there’s a nice breeze! 
Hi Betty-I know, I think December is going to be a crazy month! Ahh I can’t wait for January!
Ooh are you going to Paris? 
How exciting!
Hi Midge-Haha cool! It’s a good breakfast!
Hi ArtemisIII-They were SO good! Just the right amount of jasmine flavour
Hi grace-Haha you are so funny!
Hi Conor-I’m with you about the trout-it was so good!
You’re going to have so much fun! 
Hi gobsmack’d-Oh fabulous, I’d love to know what you thought of it! Sounds like a lovely, action packed Christmas
Hi Lea Ann-Aww really? They don’t really look like snails!
Hi anna-sounds like you’ve got a lovely one planned and good on you for baking Christmas gifts too!
I love that even you get so many comments, you still take the time to respond to every sinlge one!
You are a wonder woman!
LOL at the pic of the melted ice cream! At least everyone expected it with all of you being food bloggers! The croquette is interesting but the colour on the outside looks a bit dark!
For desert at Baroque you must try the Chartreuse Souffle with Chartreuse Ice Cream- Yum!! Want to go back every night because they have different specials. Want to try Tuesday nights Cassoulet! Dont leave without trying or taking home some Macarons.
Hi Lorraine.
My boyfriend has sneakily been reading your blog & took me to Baroque for dinner Friday night.
They had Duck two ways and I have to say I wish it had been available when you visited because it was the highlight of my meal, well worth going back for!
My Boy is as crazy about apple desserts as you and LOVED the Breton shortbread with apple and nougatine. We were supposed to share but I got about two mouthfuls! Two wonderful mouthfuls I might add!
Nice review, my wife and I dined here last night. It seems a couple of Months trading has sorted out a few “start up” blemishes. Steak Fritte was still rump but a smaller cut. No problem with this as it tasted fantastic and the eschallot sauce was very refined. Hand cut chips (not fries anymore) were excellent. Snapper was well received and the the Brulee was excellent. My cheese plate was huge, could easily have been for 3 people! Value is great for both food and wine. Seems to be settling in nicely and strating to hit its stride.
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