So where does the modern-day chef find inspiration? For some, it will be a dizzying mix of Instagram images, menu surfing and eating elsewhere, all put through a murky prism of seasons and locality. Much easier would be to thumb through the dog-eared pages of Larousse and Escoffier, like they do at Bistro Francais.

Opened in early February at the busy end of King William St, Hyde Park, Bistro Francais is no temple of revisionist gastronomy. Nothing is deconstructed. No liberties are taken. Rather this is a tour de force of French classics – soupe a l’onion, boeuf bourguignon, creme brulee – that shows recipes like these are timeless when cooked with love and respect.

For chef and co-owner Fabien Streit, a Parisian who trained in Burgundy, there can be no shortcuts or half measures. What he presents on the plate is a reflection of himself and his heritage. Stocks must simmer for hours. A half- risen souffle? Well, that would be deflating.

Streit was on a working holiday, travelling around Australia, when his car broke down in Adelaide and forced him to stay. He ended up heading the kitchen at Cliche, in North Adelaide, where he met Nazzareno Falaschetti, Bistro Francais’s Italian co-owner, who manages the other side of the pass.

The pair have taken over a narrow space, previously run as a cafe/gin bar, and touched it with a little Gallic charm. Exposed brick walls have been painted white and softly glowing spheres now hang above the row of tables lined up beside a continuous, green banquette that runs the length of the room.

It also helps that the young garcon looking out for us is from Brittany and has a lovely accent and an amiable manner that more than makes up for this being his first day in the role. He can recommend a French gin and pull the cork from a bottle of Beaujolais without unnecessary drama, as well.

A charcuterie board sets the standard early, particularly the silken luxury of chicken liver pate and a duck and pork rillette, that with baguette and exceptional butter, could easily be a meal on its own.

Porcini and other mushrooms are sweated down into a pungent, dark “duxelle” paste, loaded into buckwheat crepes, buried under an avalanche of equally pungent raclette cheese and finished under the grill. It smells as French as a garlic farmer at the height of summer.

Nicoise salad is elevated from tres ordinaire to something special by the delectable chunks of yellowfin tuna poached confit-style in olive oil. Snappy green beans, waxy potatoes and eggs boiled to that perfect point between soft and hard are all beyond reproach.

Duck legs get their own confit treatment, sitting in a salt cure overnight, before bubbling gently in a hot tub of duck fat for several hours. On ordering, they are finished under a hot grill to ensure the now-melting dark meat, barely clinging to the bone, is capped by a crisped skin. Shredded into a lentil ragout bolstered with chicken and beef stocks, this confit de canard is the epitome of bistro comfort food.

That title could equally go to a bourguignon made with cheeks rather than more traditional cuts of boeuf, resulting in gelatinous, deeply flavoured pucks of meat that just lap up the red wine sauce. All the trimmings are there – lardons, baby onions, carrots and a stiff, extra buttery “pomme puree” that is worth the extra gym session.

A waft of passionfruit announces the arrival of the souffle even before it hits the table. Made with curd and a creme patissiere, along with the egg whites, it is perfectly risen and has more substance than some of the frothier versions. A wonderful, warm mousse is a good comparison.

Bistro Francais shows constant reinvention can be overrated, that the tried and true have their place. I enjoyed this meal way more than I expected to. Would I go again? Oui, oui, oui.

Related review: An ex-MasterChef contestant opens a farmhouse restaurant in the Hindmarsh Valley