Bar Magnolia

There’s a running theme at Magnolia, one that’s perfectly aligned with the cuisine. Experience it first in a martini: a brilliant balancing act of cultured butter-washed gin, served lightning quick, cold as a Brunswick terrace house on a winter morning.

There’s more butter in a standout plate of prawns in bright orange, tarragon-scented bisque. Whole flounder is positively swimming in a classic sauce meuniere. It goes without saying you’ll need bread. Here, it’s sturdy sourdough baguette from Wild Life just up the road, with a swipe of yet more golden good stuff on the side.

Equally committed to the Francophile bit is the room: dark wood furniture punctuated by linen-draped tables and light so moody it’s occasionally augmented by a phone torch scanning the menu. Less seriously French is the ambience, with Gen-X alternabangers piping through the speakers, and the service, which is suited to its location among the tattooists and second-hand cowboy boot stores of Sydney Road – distinctly unstuffy, low-key and charming.

Good to know: Mains appear expensive, but they are very generous and best tackled a deux.

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Last visited: August 2026