Petit Tracteur Bistro

When last you visited this barn-like, picture-windowed eatery on the Mornington Peninsula it was La Petanque, a high-flying French eatery replete with thematically appropriate petanque pitch. The favoured sport of shirtless, elderly men remains now that this is Petit Tracteur, run by the Ten Minutes by Tractor crowd. They're just calling it boules.

The switch has led to changes, but not too many. Bored sprats continue to chance their knees running down the olive tree- and vine-strewn slope. And the French flag is still proudly aflutter, though exec chef Stuart Bell has loosened the shirt stays on the food, but just a little, so while you may once have eaten prawns poached with vanilla here, now they're loaded onto a brioche raft with avo and a dill-tarragon yoghurt emulsion.

The room, on the other hand, has had a significant Temple and Webster-ish makeover. All those banana palms and hanging pot plants shrouded in linen. They combine with the light-grey tiles edged in gold to read greenhouse-meets-graphic-design-studio, bistrofied with bentwood chairs and vintage print ads for French fetes.

The greater accessibility is a huge bonus for the area. A glistening bar, stocked with a lot of things the cool kids are drinking – local gins and Okar – is now home to sandy-footed beach transients who want a drive-by drink and silky chicken liver parfait. On table, it's France's greatest hits – terrines, tarts and steak frites – as a prix fixe deal or open season a la carte.

The French-test points hit their marks. Little sacks of stone-baked bread are malty and hot with chewy crust. While the warmer weather holds, start with a round of those open-faced prawn buns (sadly not as good on our second visit when the brioche is dry, but always stacked high with the makings of an entire prawn cocktail with added herby zip), and consider chasing entrees with more entrees – for our money, the menu's greatest strength.

The neatly turned out salad nicoise features barely seared ruby slabs of tuna lolling over green beans, eggs and potatoes all cooked to the exact level of crunchy, soft and waxy. Or it might be a carrot-on-carrot party – condensed and charred, with a ring of sweet puree to team fluffy goat's curd and oiled freekeh. Vaguely Russian, beet-stained gravlax dotted with horseradish cream, rye croutons and dill is just as committed to finding the sweet spot where acid and fat get down.

See also the freshest duck a l'orange going: all crisped skin and juicy meat, the result of being cooked sous vide then fried. It's light and fragrant with star anise and the sweet, citrusy accents of fresh orange segments and their juice, as opposed to the sweet and sticky version you might remember from the '80s. Whatever you do, get a pan of mashed potato so buttery it's a sauce.

So, here's the bummer: it's a tale of two restaurants. When the polished Ten Minutes team is here – Graham Kinsey, the guy who makes the two-hatted sibling run on rails, with executive chef Stuart Bell in the kitchen (head chef is Caleb Stevens) – it's a hatted experience. Our busy Saturday lunch is delivered in record time, with Grade-A banter and keen wine matches to boot.

That wine list, incidentally, pushes a broad-yet-sharp collection of interesting local and French winemakers. This month the focus is on biodynamic freak Michel Chapoutier. And if you're into sparkling, there's the brilliant Fairbank Ancestral rosé.

On a later visit, it's a hot mess that makes you want to roll sleeves and dive in: no drink orders taken to begin, our sparkling delivered flat, entrees arriving an hour after we do, 20 minutes for coffee at the bitter end. Their own Wallis Chardonnay – at $21 a glass – is banged down, pre-poured with not a word except "here you go". Our pork chop is tough, and asparagus with roquefort and tomatoes tastes distinctly of a well-used grill. In a restaurant destined for busyness, it would make all the difference if the whole team, not just one hero, knew that simple updates could neutralise things. Hell, what are boules even for, if not for passing the time while the kitchen catches up?

Our advice? Bank on a good day but lock in for the long haul. Because when it's on, it's great. At the very least, drop by for a chocolate tart. That short, buttery shell filled with silken chocolate is the ruin of car seats, maker of days.

THE LOWDOWN
Pro tip: Kids' dishes (gougeres, steak frites, fish and chips) are around $15.
Go-to: dish Duck a l'orange, with green beans and roughed-up potatoes ($34).
Like this? Check out the European Group's French Saloon above Kirk's Wine Bar (Hardware Lane, Melbourne).