Toast with the most at Melbourne charmer Tartine

There exists, in my imagination, the perfect neighbourhood French bistro. It's a place where you might come for celebrations, but also visit on a Tuesday night to sit alone at the bar and slurp oysters alongside a crisp glass of Sancerre. It's a place that does perfect steak frites, where cheese and charcuterie are plentiful, where the waiters are charming and the room is beautiful, but not too precious.

I've yet to encounter this exact restaurant in real life, though components of my fantasy are drawn from places in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. And here in Melbourne, the closest approximation may be Tartine, the newly opened bistro in Richmond that aims for exactly that sweet spot: the French restaurant that feels special, but also casual.

The corner building on Swan Street oozes charm, its high ceilings and large windows creating a beautiful airiness. In the daytime, sunlight streams in onto the black-and-white chequered floors and moss-green banquettes while, at night, candles flicker on tables. A large wooden bar displays backlit bottles that feature in well-made classic cocktails.

Tartine is the brainchild of chef Andrew Beddoes, who has worked at The Grand, Albert Park Hotel and a number of well-regarded restaurants in the UK. A decade ago, while honeymooning in Lyon, Beddoes visited a restaurant that only served tartines – fancy, toasted, open-faced sandwiches. Melbourne, being a toast-loving city, might appreciate the art of the tartine, he reckoned.

Tartines make up the heart of the menu, the base of each a slice of toasted sourdough made with organic spelt and rye wheat flour. One of them is probably enough for a light dinner or slightly decadent lunch, especially the version topped with crab meat, green apple, chervil and crab emulsion ($26), which sings with oceanic sweetness.

They range from light – pear, Roquefort and basil ($18) – to hearty: charred lamb with muhammara, a spread made from walnuts and roasted capsicum ($24).

Savouring something so special in such an easy-going room feels almost as if you're getting away with something.

Supporting this menu of tartines is an array of snacks, charcuterie and a couple of main courses, plus specials that feature on the large chalkboards on the wall.

Scallop tartare ($21) is a gorgeous combination of sweet, raw seafood and fresh cucumber, bathed in a mellow onion oil and topped with caviar. It's a dish so decadent and balanced it wouldn't be out of place on the fanciest menu; savouring something so special in such an easy-going room feels almost as if you're getting away with something.

From the charcuterie section of the menu, duck liver parfait ($17) is a textural wonder, its creaminess soft enough to send me into a rhapsody about why no one makes savoury cupcakes with mousse as the stand-in for buttercream frosting. Its pleasure was marred just a little by its overwhelming saltiness, but we devoured it nonetheless.

There is an excellent steak frites ($39) on the menu, best paired with the bracing bitterness of an endive salad with honey mustard dressing ($12).

Gnocchi Parisienne ($32) comes, quite literally, swimming in burnt butter, a fact that somewhat undercuts the lightness of the crisped gnocchi and the springtime elegance of the asparagus and broad beans in the mix.

For dessert, Beddoes goes classic with a simple lemon tart ($16) or lacquered apple tart tatin ($18), spiked with Calvados and mellowed with creme fraiche.

The wine list is, predictably, very French, its most impressive attribute being a collection of pricey but exciting, small-production Champagnes. I wish the still white wine choices showed the same level of loving nerdiness as the bubbles, and that the list was more affordable overall, but there's plenty here that's appropriate to the food on offer.

Tartine may not be the exact French bistro of my dreams, but it's not far off.

Service is friendly, professional and welcoming. It's a place for a lovely date night, a place to catch up with friends, a place to sit solo at the bar and eat oysters ($5 each) and sip that glass of Sancerre.

It's a place where the food is beautiful and the room is beautiful and those things make you feel more beautiful simply because you're part of it all.

Isn't that what the fantasy of a really great restaurant is actually all about?

Vibe: Airy, vintage room with many nods to France

Go-to dish: Crab tartine ($26)

Drinks: Classic cocktails, impressive collection of Champagnes, nice French/Australian wine list

Cost: About $120 for two, excluding drinks

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine