Jacques Reymond

Ph: 9525 2178; 78 Williams Rd, PRAHRAN 3181 www.jacquesreymond.com.au

Jacques Reymond, $$$ +
Open Thu-Fri noon-2pm Tue-Sat 6.30-10pm, Closed Most public holidays; Licensed; AE DC MC V
Chef Jacques Reymond (5-12-08) Owner Jacques & Kathy Reymond (5-12-08)

Mietta's Review
This is big night out dining and priced to match. The establishment is imposing, the setting fine, the service excellent and the wine list comprehensive. The cooking itself is of the highest standard. However, a number of the combinations of ingredients and flavours in the dishes seem more experimental than successful and it remains a moot point as to how 'experimental' a restaurant of this type can be. Full marks, though, for presenting a series of dishes for vegetarian tastes.

Other published opinions

Age Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 18/20, Three Hats "18/20 10 9 In a classic Victorian mansion whacked with contemporary interior design, some aspects of Jacques Reymond reflect timeless values: the diner's privacy, the importance of service, the sanctity of the dining room"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2009 "Two decades young, Jacques Reymond's eponymous gastro-temple continues to impress with its clever, innovative food and immaculate service"

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Large kitchen brigades performing intricate duties to produce inspired dishes that are ferried to an opulent dining room by a small army of super-discreet waiters... Such restaurants are an increasingly endangered species"

Herald Sun 8-06-08 "Victorian grandeur, faultless service and a panAsian take on classical French cuisine sets the scene for any special occasion"

Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 18/20, Three Hats "Jacques Reymond the chef and Jacques Reymond the restaurant are both Melbourne treasures. The latter combines formal and relaxed elements in a stylish, seemingly effortless package, with all the classic fine-dining accoutrements - quality glassware, snowy linen and spacious tables - harmonising with the room's modern, clean lines"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "While restaurateurs everywhere trim costs, there's something admirable about an ownerchef who adheres to the tenets of formal dining (Christofle cutlery, Villeroy & Boch crockery, crumb-sweeping between courses) without allowing his cooking to suffer"

Herald Sun Eat, Bob Hart, 6-5-06 "EATING at the incomparable I Jacques Reymond's eponymous restaurant is, like choosing to buy a new Bentley, not cheap.Because food this good, this innovative, this labour-intensive will, like the Bentley, never be on special.For just on 15 years. JR has been a shrine at which local foodies worship, and one of the first places culinary pilgrims choose to visit."

The Age Good Food Guide 2006 score 17/20 2 Hats "If ever a restaurant deserved the term 'gastrotemple', this is it. And its high priest is Jacques Reymond, whose dedication to the pursuit of refined flavours, obscure ingredients and polished service is evident from the moment you're greeted at the mansion's massive front door. His cooking radiates devotion from first gougere (cheese puff) to final petit four."

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide * "The term "control freak" could have been coined for Jacques Raymond. And that's meant in a good way. No curly parsley garnishes for this Burgundy-born chef. Instead, he'll compose an elfin salad using newly sprouted herbs."

The Age Sunday Life, Australia's 20 best restaurants Mathew Evans 05 "French expat Reymond looks mostly to Asia these days, from his take on pho ga (Vietnamese chicken soup) to sensational King George whiting with paradise prawns and flavours of lime and coconut."

The Age Good Food Guide 2005 "AT a time when gastro temples are more of a Sydney phenomenon, Jacques Reymond continues to hold Melbourne's torch for Big Occasion Dining, with prices to match. Dramatically stripped of frills in favour of clean lines and flashes of colour a couple of years ago, the grand Windsor mansion still impresses with lofty ceilings and serious table dressing. Service, too, remains strong, mixing efficiency and knowledge with a refreshingly relaxed and friendly style."

Gourmet Traveller 2005 Restaurant Guide ** "Jacques Reymond is the doyen of Melbourne's restaurateur-chefs, whose "cuisine du temps" still sets a benchmark for creativity based on classic craftsmanship and confident composition oftextures and flavours."

The Age,Agenda,20/6/04,John Lethlean,'Jacques Reymond,being the cunning renard he is,got onto the specialist veg thing eons ago.His meat-free menu is famous,and justifiably so...It ain't cheap.But the kitchen doesn't treat you like a second-class citizen,either.'

The Age, Agenda, 30/5/04,Dani Valent,'The Reymonds' remarkable talent for mixing old and new is evident in their grand Victorian premises,renovated with a halequin's eye for colour and dash.Jacques Reymond's food is just as daring,fusing rock-solid French technique with oriental flavours and local produce in dishes such as kingfish and yabby sashimi with Asian-scented gazpacho and abalone with pig cheek and shiitake mushrooms.'

The Foodies' Guide 2004,Allan Campion & Michele Curtis,'Jacques Reymond is absolutely stunning.With its brightly coloured rooms and modern Australian menu,it will not fail to impress.Try the degustation menu-seven courses,coffee and petit fours.There are also vegetarian options.'

The Age Good Food Guide 2004-2 hats,17/20, excellent wine list, wide range of vegetarian dishes

Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Australia 2004, 2 Red stars, Excellent wine list, Good vegetarian options,'he keeps his infinitely innovative cuisine moving with the times...menu now includes intriguing East-West flavours...Naturally, the extensive wine list, the polished service, the comfortable seating and immaculate table appointments are all exemplary.'

The Age, Epicure, 10/2/04,'10 Hot Young Chefs- Jade Campbell-Scott

VE+T, March April 2003,'Recently revamped with rich color.'

The Sunday Age, Eat Streets, John Lethlean, 20/10/02. "When celebrating an anniversary, the right setting can make it a meal to remember."

Age, Epicure, Restaurants, John Lethlean, 24/9/02, Score 17/20. "Unique food has been refocused to provide broader appeal."

The Herald Sun, Weekend, Eat , Bob Hart, 6/7/02. "The food still looks wicked, but the dinner can now feel virtuous."

The Herald Sun, 05.06.01, Stephen Downes review "From the evidence of this visit, Jacques Reymond's offering are, more than ever, leaving behind classically refined and highly worked food. I also think much of the magic of Jacques used to conjour has been lost, even if high skill is always evident. The excellent wine list is expensive, but four wines and four reds come by the glass. Score: 16 out of 20."

The Sunday Age, 22.04.01, John Hindle review "Jacques Reymond may not thrill those who confuse modern architecture with fine dining, or those who feel threatened by permanence and quality. But I think that the elements required for a superior dining experience are all present. The food is very, very creative, and often complex, but it is superior in execution and presentation, and it's obviously the product of much loving labour. Service is excellent, the wine list impressive. Jacques Reymond costs a lot - and it's a bargain. Score: five stars."

The Age, A2, Food & Wine, 9/8/03, Jane Faulkner,'vegetative matter never looked or tasteed so good.'