Reine & La Rue
French$$$
A storied building erected during boom times.
Soaring vaulted ceilings, stunning stained glass and towering granite columns: this exquisitely detailed neo-Gothic building makes for a knock-out of a restaurant. It’s like dining in a mini cathedral; the wooden pews and statues of saints switched out for luxurious caramel leather banquettes and a pair of red marble bars. Praise be – the food is worthy of the setting.
Tiny cubes of bluefin tuna and zingy orange hide beneath fried winter radish leaves. Perfectly pink Loddon Estate half-duck, dry-aged for two weeks, sits atop chargrilled sugarloaf cabbage and roasted grapes. A waiter will sauce two generous fillets of wood-grilled and delicately favoured New Zealand turbot with a buttery fish stock reduction.
Later, they may deliver lightly scorched brioche paired with preserved apricot and toffee-striped brie ice-cream. Faultless service and an exciting selection of French-leaning wines complete the immersion into magnificent grandeur.
Good to know: The eight-seat speakeasy at the back, La Rue, has a bar menu and happy hour cocktails.
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