Cafe Amalia

Address: 1D Rose Street, Armadale, 9822 7753
My score: 3/5

Why does a very French cafe in a clutch of boutiques near Toorak station say as much about Melbourne eating as its more trendy, obviously ‘Melbourne’ counterparts? It’s because character is revealed in relief as well as in demonstration. Cafe Amalia operates with French culinary priorities of doing things correctly. In France, for the most part, people order omelette or salad nicoise or steamed mussels because they know exactly what they will be getting. There’s no expectation that the chef will put a creative twist on things because the success of the dish is in its proper rendering. Au contraire in Melbourne, ambitious cafes strive to present dishes with an individual spin.

Cafe Amalia is owned by personnel from France Soir which has a similar, proudly conservative approach. At this small, sweet cafe, service is attentive and unfussy. The food is presented as described on plain white crockery. Water and bread arrive without fanfare. Lunch dishes include a simple puff pastry square filled with morsels of white chicken meat and soft buttery leeks suspended in classic white sauce. (There’s no fear of butter or flour here, though the gluten intolerant do tolerably well.) A generous lamb special stars beautifully cooked backstrap that crowns a gently tossed, nicely dressed salad of rocket, green and black olives, crumbled chevre and sautéed shallots. Pear and rocket salad (yes, there’s a lot of rocket) comes with good walnuts. The lemon tart is sweet and savoury in pleasing proportion with bruleed top and crisp pastry – it’s a good version of a classic. Desserts come with a squirt of cream, mint leaves and half a strawberry: I wouldn’t say no to a bit of innovation here.

These premises have long operated as a cafe in various guises. The long building has three dining rooms with the pluses (privacy, intimacy) and minuses (invisibility, a dull feeling of being out of the action) that come with separate zones. Personally, unless I was meeting a secret lover, dealing in contraband or with a larger group, I’d go elsewhere unless I found a seat in the front room, because that’s where le buzz is. The window bay with street view is particularly charming.

Seen through a Melbourne prism (through three-quarter-latte glasses, perhaps) the Amalia experience can seem a little flat and lacking in spark. Seen through a French prism (baguette binoculars?) things are just as they should be.

More French:

Hardware Societe, 120 Hardware Street, Melbourne, 9078 5992
You’ll wait at busy times but it’s worth it for the creative spin on French cookery. Sweet and savoury breakfasts are given equal loving attention and always consider the carefully wrought specials.

Bistro Vue, 430 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 9691 3838
I can’t say the words Bistro Vue without invoking a vision of their exceptional tarte tatin. Other attractions include the weekly rendering of a dish of Escoffier, the father of French cookery.

Bistro Gitan, 52 Toorak Road West, South Yarra, 9867 5853
Jacques Reymond’s children run this relaxed restaurant with its jaunty French-inspired menu and sparky wine list.

First published in The Age, February 3, 2013