Ardeche specialises in modern French, North African and Middle Eastern cooking, though the main focus is French. A diverse specials blackboard coupled with an extensive menu will tempt the most jaded diners, delivering a quality dining experience. Awarded an honourable mention in the 2005 NSW Restaurant and Catering Awards, Ardeche's positive reputation has been built on serving classics such as pan-fried snails in garlic, butter and white wine served in a mille feuille; coq au vin; crepes suzette and of course the traditional canard a l'orange: twice-roasted duck in orange sauce. A considered wine list complements the menu, including a dozen French and a further dozen Australian wines to select from. Ardeche provides unpretentious French food in a stylish, intimate setting - a little bit of France in Canberra.
Marty Begbie
Open
m
t
w
t
f
s
s
Breakfast
Lunch
O
O
O
O
O
O
Dinner
O
O
O
O
O
O
Late
Mon-Sat 11.30am-2pm, 5.30pm-10pm
African-Central/East/West and French
Signature dish: Canard a l'orange - traditional duck with an orange sauce
Entree: $8.90-$16.90
Mains: $16.90-$29.90
Dessert: $9-$12.50
Payment accepted: MasterCard, Visa, Diners Club, American Express and EFTPOS
Licensed. BYO (wine only) $10 corkage per bottle.
This venue accepts bookings.
Seats 90
Outside dining area
Wheelchair access
and wheelchair-accessible toilets
All reviews and ratings are the expressed opinions of our users, and in no way reflects the opinions of yourRestaurants, its staff and its affiliates.
Posted by:
dan-0
|
6 January 2010, 11.23am
A good place to catch up
I've eaten here a few times over the last few years and it is remained quite consistent.
Firstly I think the service here is very good, the waiters are polite and helpful but not intrusive. This is exactly what I feel service is about.
The food is very good, I had the bouef bourguignon the last time I was there and had no faults with it.
However my friend also found the plum sauce too overpowering and sweet.
Athmosphere wise it is OK.
I will definitely be going back.
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Visit: Wed 6 January 2010
Service:
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Posted by:
food bowler
|
21 December 2009, 11.20am
Great food and perfect service - we'll be back
This place is always packed with pre-theatre diners and we ve tried a few times to get in without a booking. Never any luck but this is certainly a good sign! This time I was organised and booked ahead with a comment that we were going to the theatre.
Let s start with the service. The great service started when I made the booking friendly and sincere. When we arrived, the waiter mentioned (unprompted) that we were going to the theatre and he would have us out in time for the show. From there the service was perfect - genuinely friendly and subtle.
The food was great not cutting edge or unusual but delicious European-inspired food cooked to perfection. Another pleasant surprise was the generous portions and value for money. The most meals sat around the $25 mark with the most expensive meal costing $30. We opted for bread instead of dessert so we didn t have time to sample the desserts.
I ll just finish quickly with the decor. It s not five star (no white tablecloths, etc) but it s pleasant enough. I would say the draw card here is the food and not the decor. It s not bad by any stretch just don t expect romantic plush interiors.
We ll definitely be back sometime soon.
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Visit: Sat 19 December 2009
Mealtime: dinner
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Atmosphere:
Posted by:
2fatfoodies
|
6 July 2009, 6pm
French, but not French.
OK, my wife and I have spent time in Europe where it seemed every restaurant we went to seated 10 people, the owner and his wife cooked & served, you could cut the accents with a knfe and before you knew what happened you'd spent 6 hours enjoying a ton of food for $20.
We're yet to find one of those little unsophisticated, comfortable eateries in a Canberra backstreet where you know the owner by name. From this website we could see Ardeche wasn't going to fit that bill either but we decided to give it a try anyway. Having tried to book it the week before and being unsuccessful, this week we had no problems and in fact they would have had 10 covers whilst we were there. (As an aside, we've still to get used to restaurants turning customers away at 9pm on a Saturday night in Canberra but I'm sure we'll adjust (from Sydney) in time....)
To the restaurant.
Service. Was good through the whole night - no complaints there.
The wine list. Very disappointing. One thing I would expect from a French restaurant is an extensive wine cellar. On the list were in the region of 10 Aussie and 3 or 4 French reds, and the same number of whites. I'm not a connoisseur in the slightest but I have seen many a wine list on one double sided laminated A4 sheet in the cheapest of greasy spoons. This is an area where Ardeche can easily lift its game to stand out from the crowd.
The food. OK, first in a French restaurant I'd expect a few hunks (OK, Ardeche is a bit more upmarket - slices) of fresh French Bread to keep you going. Didn't happen.
The herb bread we ordered from the menu was fine. I ordered French Onion Soup as a starter, remembering my last example of this as a dark, thick broth in a tureen with caramelised onions lurking at unseen depths, a thick hunk of bread and melted cheese floating on the top. I think the chef here believes in his patrons walking out of his restaurant sans heart attack, so the version I got was a light consomme with nicely done onions, and a 'wafer' of crispy fried parmesan. A very modern take on the dish. The soup was quite sweet.
Mains were duck a l'orange for the lady and twice roasted rabbit in a plum sauce for me. The portion sizes, despite what I'd read elsewhere, were plenty and my wife's dusk was very good. Mine would have been good except for the overpowering sweetness of the plum sauce. Too much chef!
Dessert was a beautiful lemon tart and the coffee was acceptable.
It is worth going there as you'll get decent food, a pleasant enough ambience and decent service. If you're looking for that little French village restaurant from the movies, so are we........
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Visit: Sat 4 July 2009
Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by:
agso
|
14 June 2008, 11.26am
A Plesant Surprise.
We have walked past this restaurant for years and finally tried it on a busy friday night and were lucky to get a table. The menue was extensive and interesting. The quality and presentation of the food was really good and the service efficient. In brief a delicious meal and reasonable value. Bookings would be advised as there seemed to be a lot of pre theatre diners.
Food:
Visit: Fri 6 June 2008
Mealtime: dinner
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