This St Kilda pub has been flying under the radar as a French brasserie

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Why am I sitting in a St Kilda pub thanking New York hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest for my perfect Parisian creme brulee? The short answer is: everything is connected.

The longer explanation is that chef Julian Barker saw someone in a Tribe T-shirt in a bar one night and remarked that it was cool. The wearer was Romaric Senelas, co-owner of The Post Office Club Hotel, and they soon realised they both loved classic French restaurants. (Rom is from Paris; Jules grew up speaking French in Canberra with his Swiss-French maman, and first worked in kitchens at 13 with a non-English-speaking Frenchman.)

Next minute (OK, year), the chef’s and proprietor’s talents have combined to turn an 1871 pub into a modern Melbourne version of a French brasserie.

The Post has been through various iterations over the past few years (tacos and footy, pasta and pizza) but none have quite worked. This version feels very good. The food is excellent: simple but well-executed. The wine list is great: sassy, French-leaning and approachable. The service is warm and well-drilled.

The room is gorgeous. The front bar has been opened up, making it comfortable for solos (a cheese plate is fine company) and groups. The side area is lined with banquettes in pied-de-poule black-and-white upholstery, giving way to a dog-friendly vine-draped courtyard.

A streetside store dispenses coffee and Hamptons Bakery bread (the businesses share a parent company, the nimble Legacy Group that also includes Tommy Collins catering and The Villager at Mount Buller).

Chef Julian Barker’s food is not complicated; he doesn’t think food needs to be. Seafood is a focus – mussels are inherent permission to get a bit messy, and there’s a weekly fish special.

The steak has extra layers of flavour thanks to the rendered beef fat that’s used to paint the porterhouse as it’s grilling, and from the obsessively made beef jus that underpins the pepper sauce.

A resonant brown chicken stock is the scaffolding for a sauce vin jaune. Made with an oxidative French white wine, cream and shallots, it threatens to outshine the juicy golden-skinned roast chicken it accompanies.

Choux pastry steps up throughout the menu. Gougeres are the crisp spherical containers for a white sauce stirred with lovely Comte cheese. Gnocchi Parisienne is made with choux nuggets, simmered, pan-seared, then dressed with pea puree. A large choux bun is the slumped hero of an indulgent dessert featuring hazelnut custard and chocolate sauce.

The French approach doesn’t quite suggest it, but there’s also plenty for vegans and gluten-free diners. A lentil-and-walnut pâté is brightened with sherry vinegar and has as much body and richness as its meaty counterparts.

I’m generally (and often literally) glass-half-full, but even I was pleasantly surprised at how good the Post is – and worried that hardly anyone was enjoying it. I’ll leave you to fix that while I write a thank-you note to A Tribe Called Quest.