A menu listing hors d’oeuvres, garnitures and plat principaux in Newtown? Pourquoi pas? The flavour comes at you hard at this mezzanine restaurant above the buzzy Odd Culture bar, born again in 2024 as romantic, paper-over-cloth French bistro.

It never forgets where it is (King Street), as it treads its own path through Chartreuse and soda to start and Canada’s eternally comforting pouding (read: pudding) chômeur to finish.

The steak in a steak frites comes as a nicely ruddy bavette and ready to the job its tasked with – that is, getting along great guns with a lively Cahors malbec from the impressive French-forward wine list. Navarin d’agneau is appropriately rich and meaty with fall-apart lamb cut by carrot leaf pistou, and the roast chicken with a robust jus would like to have a word with some aged chardonnay.

There are some seasoning and serving temperature stumbles across the entrees, but this is a fun night out in any case, with plenty of Talking Heads on the stereo and a floor team on the ball.

Good to know: Hit the happy hour (4-6pm weekdays) at Odd Culture pre-dinner for zucchini flowers, potato scallops with caviar and discounted negronis and zero-proof drinks.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.