I feel like I need some breadcrumbs. In the maze that is the Crown Complex, I’ve managed to accidentally photobomb an Athletes foot convention, walk into another room and get lost. All on the way to find Bistro Guillaume. When I see the vivid green doors I am relieved that I am not going to accost any unsuspecting strangers but also because it looks so Parisian like the cover of the Rose Bakery cookbook come to life. Yes everything relates to cookbooks and bakeries. Bistro Guillaume is the newest baby for chef Guillaume Brahimi and is only a few weeks old on my visit.

Inside it looks like a classic bistro. Wooden chairs, dark tables, white napkins and wine glasses. Large menus sit on every table. There is even a French accented waiter who in a casual way asks another diner “Eeez good?” when walking past her table. “It’s wonderful” she beams back at him charmed. All we need is a French poodle and a man in a beret walking past holding a baguette under one arm!

Bread

I have sort of deliberately starved myself. I know it’s terrible to miss breakfast but having already stalked the menu online I know what I want to order. I meet Melissa there and given that she has eaten here previously I defer to her to order. As long as I get the steak tartare. Oh yes, I do love you steak tartare. The bread is served as two attached leaves and is very, very chewy and crunchy. There’s no elegant way of pulling these apart and pulling them is like pulling Christmas crackers.

Onion soup $16

The onion soup is an item that he brought over from Guillaume at Bennelong and is said to be excellent so an order is placed for a bowl of this. It arrives with three melty cheesy pieces of bread on top of a swathe of soft, fine onion shreds. In fact the soup is more onion than soup but I do love a good serve of the sweet sauteed onions. It’s rich and deep in flavour with a touch of alcohol and I adore the spongey but not soggy croutons.

King prawn with avocado cream, tomato, croutons and cos lettuce $24

I wanted to order a lighter dish just in case readers wanted to eat here a bit lighter. This is a perfectly pretty salad made with cos lettuce leaves, halved baby kumatoes, Spanish onion, buttery croutons, scoops of avocado cream, enormous prawns and parsley. In fact although it is on the small side for the price it is very fresh and clean.

Steak tartare with pommes gaufrettes $24

The steak tartare comes out glistening and packed with onion, baby capers and herbs. It’s well seasoned and I even resist the urge to tamper with it with the bottle of Tabasco sauce that sits on the table. I don’t need it. It comes with potato chips that in parts are slightly soft and a nicely dressed tiny side salad.

Half a roasted chicken with Paris mash and chicken jus $35

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It was a Saturday morning when I rose early, had a facial appointment, ran some errands and returned home at noon. To find Mr NQN fast asleep like a baby. The poor thing works terribly hard but I did think that rousing him at noon seemed a reasonable hour. “Wake up, it’s sunny and gorgeous today!” I exclaimed.

“Mmhummpummh” he muffled into his pillow.

An hour later we were driving across the bridge along with half of Sydney winding our way down Military Road into Sydney Road in Manly and then making our way to the promenade on the beach. The Pantry is situated in the old beach house and information centre and it is smack bang on the beach. As far as locations go, there really isn’t much better.

Reservations aren’t taken for breakfast but they are for lunch and dinner and it is open all afternoon. Service from our first waitress is on the cold side only reaching the warmth of a smile once or twice which seems  unusual for Manly where service is usually very warm and friendly. Another waitress is friendlier and there seem to be plenty of waitstaff floating around but none to take our order.

Iced coffee $4

The astonishing thing about this place, and I hope it doesn’t change, is the prices. Considering the view which is rather priceless and you can practically smell the salt water on the surfers paddling out onto the waves, the prices are incredibly reasonable. We didn’t try Laporello’s iced coffee but he assures us that it was good and worth a repeat visit for.

Nduja $10

Nduja is that very popular now Calabrian spreadable sausage in a casing. We ask the first waitress to check that this is their nduja whereas we’ve mostly had the traditional nduja which spreads like pate or rillettes. This is a salami similar to the one I had at La Piadina made by Quattro Stelle and is the hard or piccante version without olive oil added to give it that spreadable consistency. The nduja piccante salami is very thinly sliced and very dry and spicy although not what I was craving for which is the spreadable nduja.

Pickled octopus $9

They had just sold out of their last order of the arancini balls so we go for the pickled octopus. Served cold and tender it evokes memories of Mediterranean holidays and beachside meals. It’s just the right side of vinegary and has a great texture without a hint of rubberiness.

Angus beef burger, onion jam, coleslaw & chips $18

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