I was introduced to this place years ago by a good friend, and it's simple perfection has stayed in my mind ever since. When mundane errands saw us within strolling distance, I simply had to visit again.
The façade is really unassuming - in typical Melbourne fashion, this is the kind of place you discover by lucky accident or you get guided there by someone "in the know".During past visits I have sampled their omelettes, baguettes, sausage rolls and flour-less orange cake - all delicious. The coffee is also very good.
There is one star of the show though, and that's their eclairs - I don't even like eclairs that much normally, but theirs are so light and fluffy and gorgeous they're simply impossible to resist.
I insisted that Josh, being on his first visit, sample these legendary eclairs.
With many different ones of offer it is always a difficult choice - there's cream, chocolate, coffee and caramel varieties available.
He chose chocolate, I went with traditional cream.
Josh also ordered one of his favourites - Pain au Chocolat (Chocolate Pastry). If his pleased smiles and enthusiastic murmurings are anything to go by, I think this was also a very good example of it's type.The staff are friendly and helpful and were happy for me to take photos, which is always nice. The interior furnishings are very simple, the food is definitely the focus here, and that attention to detail really shows when you're enjoying their delicious delights!
Once you've stuffed yourself with decadence, there's also a provedore/deli section as well, where you can get fresh baked bread and all sorts of french goodies - if you're wanting to impress dinner guests, Julia Child style, and need special ingredients, this would be the place to go - they've got it all! The prices aren't budget, but neither are the ingredients. For special occasions I think it's well worth investing in your ingredients, they can make all the difference between an "okay" result and one that results in eye-rolling appreciation.
French Fantasies is located at 15 Toorak Road, South Yarra.
We paid for our own meals and didn't identify ourselves as bloggers.
