Restaurant review: Jean-Michel at Knickerbocker

I'm not getting the schnapps and fondue bent to Snowy Mountains skiing, where things have a decidedly Swiss alps feel to them as though we're not sure how to make a ski culture of our own. The restaurants have names like the Bavarian Beer Hall, Black Bear Inn and the Viking-reminiscent House of Ullr, although the same Swiss chalet feel isn't reflected in menus, which seem to steady around a post-ski steak.

Perhaps this is simply the nature of eateries in a seasonal town, where people have their minds on other things than the pointy end of inner-city dining. A big feed in a warm room seems more to the point after a day of frustration, exhilaration and wild discomfort in awkward clothes and ludicrous boots, leaving you stuffed and ruddy faced, hungry and tired. Which probably explains why what we're told (on good authority) is one of the town's best restaurants is not full on this Friday night towards the end of ski season. Who'd be a restaurateur in an itinerant town where everyone just wants a feed?

We're at Jean-Michel at the Knickerbocker, weird name, which conjures images of striped socks and silly dances, and the set-up has touches of the Swiss alpine theme, with old wooden skis on the walls, a kind of feature wall of branches, hung with pin-cushion hearts and a cow bell. Actually, I have no idea whether this is Swiss themed, but it feels like something of a rustic alpine cliche. It's cosy, intimate, relatively small, with bare wooden tables, a banquette set with cow-hide covers, the space broken up with a busy bookshelf, and an inexplicable couple of televisions here as well.

The menu is French and I like the simplicity, conciseness and classic feel of what's on offer. The entrees are a good start, well in-theme. A big round of salmon mousse ($18) is nicely textured, soft but full of oomph, salty and fine with its salad of bitter greens, big capers, shredded cucumber pickle, a gentle horseradish cream, and a thick oat cracker. Just the kind of dish you expect at a French country

The duck and pork terrine ($19) is super rustic, not sophisticated or delicate in flavours, but that, too, is fine for where we are. Studded with pistachios, it's good with its accompaniments – a luxurious dollop of mustard, dark and fresh pesto, red cabbage, pickled cucumbers and bitter greens. There are just six mains, again strongly French themed – duck confit, pork cutlet in a white bean, speck and cider broth. Feeling cold and in need of comfort we order French lamb casserole ($33), which comes as a big bowl of rich, tomato-based lamb stew, with baby carrots, stalks of asparagus, a pile of mash in the middle, radish and a pesto made with oregano, the menu tells us. This is rich, simple in flavour and generous. The

We also plunge feet first into the offer special, since it's oxtail ravioli. In the event, it's a dish I struggle to get a handle on, the ravioli – not piled with obvious oxtail by any means, are served in a thin, broth-like sauce, with good thick slices of mushroom, little bits of cauliflower, peas and sour cream. This is

The wine list does a decent job of choosing good Australian and Canberra-region wines, and French. By the glass, there is Yering Station pinot and chardonnay from the Yarra Valley, Xanadu Next of Kin semillon-sauvignon from the Margaret River and a Clare riesling, plus a couple of French reds. By the bottle there are offerings like an Alsace gewurztraminer (Hugel et Fils), Marc Bredif vouvray from the Loire, Clonakilla's O'Riada shiraz from Canberra (at a rather big price of $75), and Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut riesling among the dessert wines, so clearly an attempt to source from the right areas. The glasses, though, are not

The dessert isn't a big success. The cherry clafoutis is pudding-like, as it should be, but is dense and uninteresting in texture and we don't finish it. We also have a warm pear with chocolate mousse. The pear is fine, if not spiced or aromatic with flavour, but the chocolate mousse is a little disappointing, if you're after one of those mousses that shouts dark and unspeakably rich chocolate. We've had kids' meals tonight also and been pretty happy with the treatment of them, a juicy steak, decent chips, proper salad, although the ice-cream isn't the

We leave quite happy with Jean-Michel at the Knickerbocker. Aspects of the food – the entrees especially – have been very good and the feel is cosy and pleasant. The service has been good, personable, and with the feel of a manager or owner's hand in the single person who attends our table. It's a small operation, and probably not an easy one to run in this fun-oriented, feed-me-quick ski town, where once you've blown $1000 on lift tickets and ski hire for the family for a day and a half, you could be forgiven for trying to economise on dinner by eating in. Country French bistros are a bit of a favourite of this reviewer, and with a little more clarity and finesse in the mains and better desserts, Jean-Michel would do the trick.

Jean-Michel at the Knickerbocker

Address: 1 Diggings Terrace, Thredbo Village NSW 2625
Phone: 6457 6844
Website:jeanmichelknickerbocker.com
Owner: Jean-Michel & Georgie Gerst
Chef: Jean-Michel Gerst
Hours: Dinner Tues-Sun from 6pm.
Licensed: Yes, no BYO
Wheelchair access: Yes. No disabled toilets.
To pay: Cash, EFTPOS, MasterCard, Visa, Amex (with surcharge)
Seats: 70
Food: ★★☆☆
Service: ★★★☆
Style: ★★★☆
Wine list:★★★☆
Value for money: ★★☆☆
Score: