When you can’t possibly face another kale salad, dude-food burger or edible flower, Bistro Guillaume provides the perfect antidote to trend-focused menus.

There’s a reason French cuisine reigns eternal and supreme, and if Brahimi’s menu is anything to go by, it may be down to the timeless deliciousness of French onion soup.

The deeply rich, earthy-sweet onion soup, that comes with three delightful thyme and gruyere croutons, has diners throwing their heads back and eliciting groans of “mmmm, delicieux”.

Also heady is the wine list filled with three- and four-figure trophy heroes for the captains of industry (who have regular bookings), and for the rest of us, the offering is usefully broken down into light-, medium- and full-bodied bottles.

When the Nicoise salad fails to excite, an exceptional John Dory on a bed of buttery mushrooms saves the day, followed by the city’s best version of a classic lemon tart.

Service is without fault, with enough French accents bouncing around the handsome dining room to convince you that you are in fact on the leftbank of the Seine and not the Yarra.

Stylish, suave and timelessly elegant – one way to sum up Bistro Guillaume’s classic offering and that onion soup.

Must-eat dish: French onion soup
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