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Missy French

Terry Durack
Terry Durack

Moodily monochromatic: Missy French's interior is floored with tiles and softened with linen.
Moodily monochromatic: Missy French's interior is floored with tiles and softened with linen.Christopher Pearce

14/20

French$$$

There's something about Missy French that is both up-to-the-minute and charmingly old-fashioned, reminiscent of a time when the chef was in the kitchen and not on the telly, and diners were cared for by someone with a vested interest in the business.

Missy French may be new, but it has history, what with owner Josephine Perry being the 21-year-old daughter of Rockpool's Neil Perry. She grew up in restaurants and is a natural host, welcoming and hospitable.

Like her father, she also appears to be fearless in terms of opening a business, bolstered, in her case, by former Rockpool chef, Chris Benedet​, designer Grant Cheyne and two silent partners.

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The pork pithivier is a big hit.
The pork pithivier is a big hit.James Brickwood

Benedet brings some classy cooking skills and a lighter bistronomic twist to the usual French bistro fare. Instead of periwinkles ($21) being served raw in their twirly shells, these snails of the sea are served warm, deshelled and crisply topped with garlic and parsley butter, and breadcrumbs in the way of escargots a la bourguignonne​.

The big hit, over my three visits, is the pork pithivier​ ($29), a golden puff of a pie on a bed of crushed peas, with a pour-on veal jus. The pastry lid, classically etched in radiating lines, hides a rich inner life of confit pork belly, mushrooms, chestnuts and celeriac in the perfect mix of comfort and couture.

Grant Cheyne has created a moodily monochromatic interior, floored with tiles and softened with linen. It's a grown-up's space, with seasoned professionals such as Andrew Johns and sommelier Lisa Sanders smoothing out the wrinkles.

Mandarin and blueberry Eton mess.
Mandarin and blueberry Eton mess.Dominic Lorrimer
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The tables are both clothed and papered; Iggy's bread rolls come warm; and striking, slightly melancholic black-on-white Noah Taylor portraits sit like exclamation marks against the shades of grey.

Some dishes aren't there yet, and service can be slow. A classically made consomme with vichyssoise-like leek and potato croquettes is a bit odd, and I question the amount of sugar in the brine of a whole grilled and flattened spatchcock ($32), which appears to neutralise the flavour.

And why turn pomme puree a muddy grey with a $15 supplement of truffles, when you could shave coal black over snowy white instead?

The periwinkles with pommes Parisienne and maitre d'hotel butter.
The periwinkles with pommes Parisienne and maitre d'hotel butter.Dominic Lorrimer

Being Neil Perry's daughter does have its perks, such as getting Rockpool Bar & Grill's Richard Healey to put together a thoughtful, robust, not particularly cheap wine list, including a nicely rich, bold, biodynamic 2014 Frederick Stevenson Vine Vale Grenache ($75).

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Another perk is passed on to the diner in the form of Rockpool-quality fish cookery. A precisely trimmed, buttery, burnished fillet of snapper ($29), served on a simple white wine veloute with leeks is exceptional.

Portions are modest, so you'll need to add $9 sides of frites or roast cauliflower. That wouldn't play in Surry Hills, but they may get away with it with the well-heeled and well-fed eastern suburbs crowd.

Desserts go beyond the cliche, especially a sculptural Eton mess ($17) that combines delicate mandarin panna cotta, freeze-dried blueberries, mandarin gel and sorbet with shards of crisp meringue.

Beware, the wheels are not yet in their grooves. A request for a glass of petit chablis brought a glass of pinot noir, the table wobbled, and they still owe me $15 for a computer-code overcharge on the grenache, yet this is a restaurant with real promise.

It's the ancient art of the restaurateur, delivered, rather sweetly, by the youngest and newest one in town.

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THE LOW-DOWN
Best bit: A cliche-free new look at French bistro food
Worst bit: Wobbly tables (the real ones are on the way)
Go-to dish: Pork pithivier​ with peas and jus, $29

​Terry Durack is chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and senior reviewer for the Good Food Guide. This rating is based on the Good Food Guide scoring system.

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Terry DurackTerry Durack is the chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and Good Food.

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