Travel to the Big Apple via France while devouring burgers and frites at this Lonsdale Street taxi-yellow bar. A theme-appropriate Manhattan cocktail or flute of Taittinger will get you in the mood for food. Head chef Adrian Corigliano’s French snacks and share plates include classics such as escargot and a heaving MGX burger which jams wagyu beef, cheese, bacon and a bordelaise sauce between sweet brioche milk buns. An indulgent duck frites is lifted by a refreshing tangy orange salad, while the equally bougie souffles are baked to order, giving you enough time to down a dessert cocktail. Basement 111 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne; barmargaux.com.au.

Tartine is an ode to the open sandwich, best imagined as the fluently French-speaking love child of smashed avo on toast and our OG lunch staple. The Swan St building’s Parisian white exterior is very posh and leads into an equally oh-so-chic dining space with white chalk-scrawled specials boards and a booze-bolstered mahogany bar lined by a trim of black bentwoods. Towering ceilings make the 45-odd-seater feel grand and more spacious. 105 Swan St, Richmond; tartine.com.au.

For nearly 40 years, France-Soir has been one of the hottest spots in Melbourne if you’re after a fancy fix of French cuisine. It’s not just the extensive list of French wines, or the quintessential French dishes (hello, escargot, moules marinière, duck rillette), or even the exceptional service. What keeps regulars coming back, year after year, is the expectation of France-Soir; unaffected by trends and unapologetically constant. 11 Toorak Rd, South Yarra; france-soir.com.au.

Sold as chef-restaurateur Scott Pickett’s love affair with French cuisine, Smith St Bistrot brings a worthy maison to Collingwood. It’s got character, charm and the classics executed well. The kitchen is helmed by chef Daniel Southern, who dishes out a series of snacks from pleasingly fatty duck prosciutto, cut with peppery radish and pickly friends, to the decidedly more ostentatious Giaveri beluga caviar service, replete with blini and other expected accoutrements. In classic bistro style, mains come with a handful of classic garnitures; pommes frites, pommes Anna, petit pois a Francais, and endive for those who prefer salad. Naturally, there’s a steak au poivre, in this case a butter-soft, dry-aged eye fillet, perfectly rested and lacquered in glossy, pleasingly piquant jus. 300 Smith St, Collingwood; smithstbistrot.com.au.

Chancery Lane delivers chef/restaurateur Scott Pickett’s vision of plating up modern food using classic techniques. There’s a brilliant balance of seafood and meat options against seasonal produce, and a long-stretching drinks list. Live a little and start with a caviar bump tableside followed by wagyu tartare seasoned with confit celery, tomato, shallot, horseradish and Dijon mustard, artfully dusted in seaweed powder. You can’t skip the sea perch mousseline (cream and egg white sauce) in a warm saffron bisque, dotted with caviar, or try the ever-changing ricotta gnocchi (on our visit the fluffy pillows are drenched in a glossy brown butter and mushroom sauce). Mains are large enough to share, such as the dry-aged duck with cognac and fig. Chancery Lane looks expensive and may be easily pigeonholed as a special-occasion restaurant, but the lavish experience, premiere ingredients and eye for detail is worth every penny, whenever you like. 430 Little Collins St, Melbourne; chancerylane.com.au.

Maybe it’s the larger than life spaces decked out in monochrome tiles and white marble. Or those soaring ceilings. Or proper Parisian service and white-clothed tables and plush royal blue banquette seats. There’s a lot at play here but Entrecote exceeds the expectation well before that first glass of fizz hits your lips. The wine list is French influenced alongside a few token drops from regional Victoria and chef Tim Menger’s (Brisbane’s Harveys, Radii) cooking is unapologetically French, too. You’ll find classics such as Tartare de Boeuf (beef tartare) moulded into a neat quenelle with a glossy egg yolk hatched on top, and reliably good steak frites of Porterhouse thrown over flame, drenched in that famous herbed butter sauce and piled high with a side of fries. With a creme brulee big enough to be shared by two, surely this is the next best thing to visiting France. 131-133 Domain Rd, South Yarra; entrecote.com.au.

Fat Duck-trained Luke Headon wears the executive chef’s apron at this chic city space. Barbecue squid is piled quiveringly atop a pool of romesco, the charred sauce a feisty accompaniment. A perfect crown of roast chicken arrives, the boned chook’s tanned exterior, crusted with spices and herbs, rests in plump slices on a puddle of a chilli-flecked jus rendered from chicken fat, tomato oil and lime juice. On the side, a decadent wedge of potato boulangere is layered like dauphinoise but scented with thyme and smoky San Simon cheese from northern Spain. It’s a killer combo. Dessert is a pear and apple tarte tatin, dark and delicious with intense, slightly bitter caramel highs in a heady mix of crisp pastry and velvety textures. Shared with Society ining Room, the combined wine cellar is surely one of the best in Australian restaurants, with more than 10,000 bottles. Wines by the glass are all best-in-class, whether Barossa shiraz or a Piedmont nebbiolo. 80 Collins St, Melbourne; societyrestaurant.com/lillian.

Chef Guillaume Brahimi serves “French food from the heart” and he delivers on that promise with well-executed, unpretentious Gallic fare. Specials, chalked on a board in the green-trimmed dining room, might run to Red Emperor tartare or (very good) braised rabbit with radishes. But cautious diners can rest easy. Guillaume’s chateaubriand with pomme frittes is usually on. Same goes for his tarragon-scented Bannockburn chicken. Leave room for the rhubarb creme brulee. Magnifique. Bistro Guillaume’s cellar is deeper than the Seine – wines by the glass come in two measures (or there’s always a bottle) – and the service is unfailingly friendly. Another flute of Moët, madam? Crown Melbourne, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank; crownmelbourne.com.au.

From the charming wooded interior with its fireplace and leafy parkland aspect to the roll call of Gallic specials and signatures, you’re in for a très comfortable experience at Bistro Gitan. French waiters are on hand to help with the menu’s finer points or top up wine from a well-priced list that pleases rather than surprises. Spiced cheese churros were savoury bombs let down by insipid yoghurt for dipping. Better to team with the theme and order escargot – chewy bites swimming in butter and garlic, or a pithivier encasing mushrooms cooked in a tangy broth giving good depth. Graduate to grass-fed eye fillet – cooked perfectly and served with a sharp mustard-based house sauce, or la pochouse, a Reymond family specialty of rockling in a fragrant broth with mushrooms, bacon, onions and sorrel that’s rich yet refreshing. Gratin dauphinois ups the comfort factor. Finish on a wonderfully brittle vanilla creme brulee or the indulgent chocolate mousse jewelled with hazelnuts and orange segments to round out an all-French affair. 52 Toorak Rd West, South Yarra; bistrogitan.com.au.

Veteran chef Philippe Mouchel’s traditional yet innovative French cooking beneath bustling Collins Street is perhaps still the best-value fancy lunch you’ll find in town, with a well-priced set menu for two or three courses that includes a glass of wine. Maybe you’ll try the Paul Bocuse protege’s salmon gravlax, which sees blushing magenta velvety coils, artfully plated with wafer potato crisps and dressed up in herbs, zingy grapefruit and pink peppercorn. Or maybe you’ll try his signature roast chook, spun on the trademark rotisserie until charry, blistered yet juicy within, wading in a robust red wine glaze and firm kipflers. A real delight. Finish with a feather-light dark-chocolate mousse or sip of honeyed sauternes to understand why Philippe is as timeless as ever. 115 Collins St, Melbourne; philliperestaurant.com.au.