Loulou Bistro, Boulangerie & Traiteur

A new two-level bistro in the heart of Martin Place, and sibling to Milsons Point’s LouLou Bistro, Boulangerie & Traiteur. Why we love it: With a fab happy hour featuring escargots and oysters for $2, and $13 mini Martinis, plus loaded steak frites baguettes at lunchtime, it’s fair to say LouLou Bistro has opened with a bang. Time Out tip: As mentioned above, head here at lunch for the loaded steak frites baguette, which comes with a house wine, beer or soft drink for $25.

And if you’re not sure who Etymon Projects is, they’re the hospo group behind top Sydney spots The Charles, Poetica, Loulou Bistro and more, so they know what’s up.

Follow the smell of fresh baguettes (they're baked three times daily) to Loulou, where you'll find a restaurant, bakery and traiteur (like a fancy French deli) all under the same roof. The menu features classic French dishes with a focus on lightness and freshness to better suit the Aussie climate and ingredients, so you can tick of steak tartare with potato crisps, an abundant daily seafood platter, and grilled Murray cod with vibrant sauce vierge. The wine list covers major French regions, and there's a $110pp bottomless rosé lunch on weekends.

Lavender BayLavender Bay will welcome a new French bistro, boulangerie and traiteur when Loulou opens Wednesday, December 22. A tour de force, Loulou, the first venture from Etymon Projects, is set to become the lower north shore’s local go-to for fresh bread and bakery items, charcuterie, rotisserie and ready-to-go meals, through to all-day dining in the bistro. Next door is the très French combination of Boulangerie and Traiteur.

Lavender Bay’s Loulou is offering Sydneysiders a taste of everyday French life. The triple whammy bistro-bakery-delicatessen hybrid has become a local favourite on the lower north shore, with the team providing everything from a morning coffee and luxe crab soufflé omelets, to a champagne lunch paired with hand-cut steak tartare. Over at the bistro, you’ll find shaved veal tongue, caviar service and an impressive wine list.

Even if you did happen to miss the bright blue awning and charming French-inspired decor, the scents of Loulou Boulangerie’s freshly baked treats are sure to guide you straight to a table. Part bistro, traiteur and beautiful boulangerie, it’s a mecca for all things French cuisine. While anything you order is guaranteed to be good, here, the croissants reign supreme and are baked consistently throughout the day.

Over the bridge in pretty Lavender Bay, Loulou is the latest addition to Sydney's neat collection of French-inspired eateries. Part boulangerie, bistro, and traiteur, there's a lot going on at this triple act all-day eatery, and it's well worth visiting for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Begin your day at the boulangerie, led by head baker Brendon Woodward (ex-Chouquette Boulangerie, Bread Ahead Bakery London).

In keeping with 2022's survivalist mode, Loulou has eggs in a lot of baskets. Sebastien Lutaud (Merivale, Solotel) has built a battle-proof business model with a bakery and traiteur (deli), as well as a big, bustling bistro and bar. Drop in for pain au raisin and St Ali coffee, pick up a roast chicken, or sit down to talented chef Billy Hannigan's lighter, brighter bistro classics.

There's a lot going on at this triple act all-day eatery, which is well worth visiting for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It includes a bakery and restaurant, bistro, and traiteur. The Loulou's boulangerie in Covent Garden, which is created by head baker Brendon Woodward (ex-Chouquette Boulangerie, Bread Ahead Bakery London), starts the day with flaky croissants.

Known for: croissants, croque monsieur, Pain au levain (sourdough). A taste of France in Sydney, Loulou is serving up carby goodness from breakfast right through to dinner. We like embracing the full French experience when we come here, we’re talking proper French croissants, classic baguettes, miche loaves and kouign-amanns.

For the taste of France in Lavender Bay, Loulou covers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The baguettes here are a stand out thanks to head baker Brendon Woodward who bakes four times a day. Move over to the deli section, and you have French-born butcher and chef Cyprien Picard knocking up charcuterie options.

Milsons Point's LouLou boulangerie experts definitely know how to make a croissant… It takes three days for head chef Brendan Woodward to perfect each batch of croissants and he always uses premium French butter for maximum flavour and flakiness. Get them hot out of the oven from 7am, seven days a week.

On weekend mornings, you'll find a queue around the block at Lou Lou's in Milsons Point. Their croissants in Sydney are simple but done oh-so-well, so you can bet your bottom dollar you'll be licking up every last crumb of their ever-evolving pastry options. Location: 61 Lavender Street, Milsons Point

The design is a perfect mimicry of a Paris bistro: light-wood tables, bentwood chairs, marble tops, black-and-white tiles in the corridors. The menu requires great deliberation; from crudités to caviar, steak tartare to chicken liver parfait – and with warm brioche!

If dinner and a stroll is on the date night menu, then North Sydney’s French brasserie is the perfect pick. Classic French romance is captured by the menu – from steak tartare with potato crisps; leek and Gruyère tarte; and steak frites with café de Paris butter.

You can’t get more authentically romantic than sitting down for a traditional French feast on Valentine’s Day. Luckily, Loulou’s, located at 61 Lavender Street Milsons Point, is offering lovers a three-course menu crafted by Head Chef Ned Parker.

At that point we’d almost launched Loulou (in Milsons Point) and were getting to know the community quite well. Even when we opened Poetica, it vindicated what we were doing at AURA,” she says.

A post shared by Loulou Boulangerie & Traiteur (@loulou.sydney). Best for: French cravings, steak tartare and assorted viennoiseries. Open: Tuesday–Sunday