EAT > Restaurant Hubert

Editors Note (25/8/24): We are saddened to hear the recent media reports and claims about Swillhouse venues. The accusations are extremely disturbing. As a result we are removing the review rating we gave for the venue.

Restaurant Hubert is very hard to position, when you describe it to people who have never visited before it is a bit like describing time travel. Imagine opening an unassuming door under a city office tower, descending down a flight of stairs with rich wood panelling and oddly miniature spirit bottles in glass cases. You keep going down (it feels like it’s a long way) and suddenly you have arrived in what feels like 1920s Paris. The restaurant (which opened in 2016) and was once the site of the Celestial Chinese restaurant has an incredibly loyal following and for very good reason, the experience of arriving, the food, drink and ambience all adds up to something just like magic.

THE AMBIENCE

The restaurant has a number of different dining and drinking zones but from the moment you arrive you are almost overwhelmed by scale of everything, the main dinning room with its stage for the resident jazz band. The gantry that runs above where guests who are visiting the ‘theatre’ can enter directly, rather than traverse through the dining room, there is also a small bar and private dinning room, there is a lot going on. The bar is open til 1am with last orders at 12.30 and as the evening progresses, the lights are low and the band kicks off, you order another martini and wonder… Great restaurants need to do something to make them special, for some it is the very tricky, pretty and finicky presentation of food, superb service, etc. At Restaurant Hubert they have transported you away.

THE FOOD

The food is fine French bistro cuisine, you find all the classics on the menu from the escargot XO to prime beef (steak) tartare (both delicious), the Gruyere Souffle (yum) and Duck Parfait which are also fantastic entree choices. That is without mentioning that the bread and home churned butter (which is one of the most serious tests of the kitchen in a great restaurant – how good is the bread and the butter, well in the this case it is world class). For main course, there are excellent chicken and seafood options available, but for me the meat is the standout at Hubert.

For our most recent visit we shared the Chateaubriand (a 400gram Collinson & Co eye fillet with an amazing béarnaise sauce) for $140 and the Murray Cod a la Hubert (Roasted Murray Cod fillet with brown butter, capers and lemon) for $68 with sides of Pommes Anna (layered potato, miso beurre blanc) $19 and Verdure avec Beurre (seasonal buttered greens) $17 – which we shared between four of us. The summary from all four of us was that the Chateaubriand was some of the best beef we had ever eaten – quite exceptional.

WHAT TO DRINK

The wine list (which is extensive) features very well with the matched options especially fine French and Australian varietals, the cocktail bar is highly professional elevating the simple classics and a range of specialised house cocktail offerings, there is an enormous range of spirits on offer. We drank the Hochkirch Maximus Pinot Noir $145 which is delicious.