Address: 235 Symonds St, Eden Tce
Phone: (09) 366 6604
My schoolgirl French lets me down — again.
"Bonjour," I say brightly to Jacques Dupeyroux at the French Connection. "Bonsoir," he growls. "It is evening, not daytime."
Fortunately my faux pas is only overheard by Julie, one of my dining companions, so multiple chagrin is averted.
The French Connection is across the road from its better-known compatriot, The French Cafe. It is, I surmise, as I have never been to the French Cafe, much smaller, more shabby-chic than chic. But, we are assured, the cuisine is pure French cafe.
Snails, cassoulet, fish with lemon sauce, champignons — they're all on offer.
Armed with beer and a bottle of Mills Reef sauvignon blanc, we set to. My escargots, just the six ($15), are very good, a vast improvement on the chewy rubbery, liverish offerings I have had previously. But chewy and rubbery is exactly how Bill's calamari arrives — $14 of inedibility, leavened only slightly by a garlic sauce.
Garlic features greatly on French Connection's menu. It is omnipresent. Andrew's mushrooms de Paris ($12), with white wine and herbs, are redolent with it.
Dupeyroux is known for his expertise with a steak, so that sorts out Andrew and Bill. He sources his meat from a supplier in the South Island and it is tender and full of flavour.
Andrew chooses his cooked in the Basque style, with tomato, capsicum and onions ($30). Bill opts for forestiere, with mushrooms and garlic ($30), and even Julie's snapper citron, with a light lemon and wine sauce ($29), has garlic overtones.
All meals come with potato gratin and broccoli, the steaks are excellent, and the fish is perfectly cooked.
I had anticipated my cassoulet ($29) to be thick with duck, sausage and beans, in sauce cooked slowly and gently so that the whole melds together in a fusion of flavours. How wrong can you be? The duck and sausage are perched on top of the dish and appear to have been put under the grill for a little too long, while the haricot beans taste as though they have had a recent acquaintance with a can.
Andrew and Bill soldier on, Bill with a bread and butter pudding (pain perdu) that is quite unlike anything his mother used to make but better than expected, and Julie's strawberry parfait is straight from the packet, sliced and slid on to the plate.
But her coffee is good.
It is hearty French cafe fare if you want steak or fish or chicken, but it's best to steer clear of the dishes that take a little more time and care.
Rating out of 10
Food: 6
Service: 8
Value: 7
Ambience: 7
Our meal: $283.50 for three starters, four mains, two desserts, wine and beer.
Wine list: Adequate, just, and not BYO. The beer offerings are better — Bill enjoyed his Kronenberg.
Verdict: The service is generally warm and friendly, but the meals are inconsistent. The French Connection has its regulars, which is probably a good thing. Dupeyroux knows steak. And garlic.
