The French accents from many of the staff are a clue, despite the idyllic location right on the waterfront promenade between the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

For here is a menu focused on seafood but through a French lens. Even in winter, the location can be glorious on a sunny day, but wrap up at night, though rugs and heaters are provided because the view (extraordinary during Vivid which ends this weekend) is not impeded by any roof or walls at all.

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Delightfully, the menu is written in French, mostly with English translations and helpful staff to explain the classics enthusiastically.

That makes it difficult to resist Fougasse and French onion dip. The Provençal olive oil flatbread with a history dating back to Roman times when it was cooked on the hearth to test the heat of the wood-burning oven, was as it should be, crisp on the outside, pillowy and soft inside. Perfect to break off and dip into the light, creamy dip of confit onion, celery salt, crème fraiche, crisp fried shallots and green onion. Fortunately nothing to do with packet soup. Or with generous portions of charcuterie with cornichons of Noix de Jambon (the best “nut” of the ham) bathed in olive oil and LP’s excellent Saucisson Sec.

Classic twice-baked Soufflé au Comté is a little heavy on the flour and light on aged cheese flavour.

A signature dish of Moules Marinières Frites arrives with a warning the plate is piping hot. Perfect on a winter’s night. The wine and brandy cream sauce with the slightest of kicks screams French technique with a whole kilo of mussels and rings of onion on top with very good frites cut thin, skin on for extra flavour.

Poisson du Jour (fish of the day) was John Dory but while the skin was golden crisp, this came at the expense of the delicate fish being over cooked. Rather tasteless shaved turnip was only slightly improved by the well-executed Montpellier butter of herbs, spinach, capers, gherkin, anchovy, garlic, egg and olive oil.

Much better is a finale of classic Tarte au Citron, the lemon curd fabulously zingy and the pastry well cooked. However, there was a slight fridgy taste which, perhaps, comes from desserts being prepared offsite. Understandable as there is just a small kitchen and bar service area in the only buildings.

Whalebridge is part of the Sydney Collective, a hospitality empire which allows for this.

However, executive chef Will Elliott is well-credentialed with a CV including Hubert, Cumulus and St John.

The well-curated wine list is naturally French dominant with some good offerings from Australia and New Zealand. However, the French wines are diverse and interesting, offering some good value also by the glass as well as special reserve wines. There are French digestives to finish as well as an appealing collection of spirits and cocktails.

There’s plenty else to please with that very European collection of tins including anchovies, tuna belly, white asparagus, Galician scallops and caviar. Fruits de mer and other classics like duck liver parfait, rillettes, confit of duck and even lobster thermidor.

Vive la France!