There are well-worn platitudes about the similarity between dining and theatre, but the comparison rings true when you step across the threshold of Bistro Guillaume. You feel as though you’ve stumbled across the set of a play in a smart Parisian bistro. The show’s already underway, and the players are busy darting about in character.

The reason for this surreal sensation is that the newest eatery from Guillaume Brahimi, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, is housed in the foyer of a busy city building, and it feels, from the outside, like the placement shouldn’t work. But it does – once seated, the rest of the world fades away.

The honed service makes it clear that every detail has been considered. Delightful flourishes included a solicitous waiter with a Champagne trolley. Given it’s lunch, we resist, but he thanks us anyway.

Like a well-oiled Broadway hit, there’s a consistency to everything that comes from this kitchen. The meal starts with slices of Iggy’s bread and house-churned butter. Impossible to resist is the twice-baked cheese souffle with Roquefort sauce. It’s exquisite, and extremely delicious. So, too, is the asparagus with sauce gribiche, while the more rustic terrine is equally worthy of attention.

As for main courses, the steak frites with bearnaise sauce is just as it should be, as is the half-roasted Barossa Valley chicken, served with a tarragon jus and a heavenly pillow of mash. If the duck confit, with peas, speck and shallot is slightly oversalted, it’s a forgivable oversight.

No meal here would be complete without a visit from the dessert trolley ($25 per person), teeming with sugary temptations such as lemon tart and passionfruit creme brulee. They’re the perfect final act to what qualifies as a sensational production.