Bastille Day is the perfect excuse to linger over a long lunch, order the cheese course, say yes to dessert and toast to all things French. Across Brisbane, some of the city’s best French restaurants are putting on special one-night-only dinners, jazz soirées and month-long celebrations inspired by the food, wine and traditions of France. Whether you’re after an indulgent dégustation, a classic steak frites or a Champagne-fuelled high tea, here’s where to celebrate on 14 July (and beyond).
Pompette
If you’re only booking one Bastille Day celebration this year, make it Pompette. The riverside French restaurant is marking France’s national day with an elegant five-course dinner called Cognac de Nuit that leans into everything that makes French dining so memorable: exceptional produce, beautiful spirits and the kind of meal designed to be enjoyed over several leisurely hours.
The evening begins with a bespoke Cognac cocktail before moving through five courses paired with premium Cognacs and a rare 1979 Delord Armagnac. Expect freshly shucked oysters with Cognac and blood orange granita, an impossibly airy twice-baked Gruyère soufflé, duck à l’orange, a French cheese course and a classic crème brûlée, finished with another exclusive cocktail from Pompette’s bar team.
Set on the restaurant’s balcony overlooking the river, it’s a celebration that captures the occasion beautifully, with plenty of French flair and enough Cognac to keep the conversation flowing long after dessert. Sittings are $255 per person and will sell out fast.
C’est Bon Restaurant and Le Bon Bar
For those who believe steak frites deserves its own public holiday, C’est Bon has the answer.
Its Bastille Day edition of the popular L’Entrecôte Jazz Soirée pairs one of France’s most iconic dishes with live jazz inside the restaurant’s charming Woolloongabba brasserie. For $55, diners receive wagyu entrecôte with Café de Paris sauce, salad and bottomless pommes frites while Brisbane jazz musician Jordan Rasmussen provides the soundtrack from 6pm.
Guests can also add oysters, a roaming fromage trolley, Crêpe Suzette or even upgrade to half lobster for an extra-special celebration.
Hervé’s Restaurant & Bar
French elegance is on the menu at Hervé’s, where Bastille Day begins with French-inspired canapés and a glass of Perrier-Jouët Champagne on arrival before settling into a carefully curated three-course dinner.
Seasonal French flavours, live entertainment and a polished dining room combine for an occasion that feels every bit as celebratory as the national day itself. At $150 per person, it’s an ideal choice for anyone looking to mark Bastille Day with a refined evening out.
La Cache à Vin
One of Brisbane’s longest-standing French institutions is celebrating Bastille Day exactly as you’d expect — with Champagne, soufflé, duck confit and crème brûlée.
La Cache à Vin’s exclusive $159 pp dinner opens with Champagne or a Kir alongside canapés before guests choose from a menu featuring dishes including Kirsch soufflé, beef tartare, confit duck Maryland, eye fillet with house-made frites and classic French desserts including Crêpe Suzette and chocolate fondant. Add a shared French cheese course for the full experience.
Bisou Bisou
Why limit Bastille Day to one evening?
Bisou Bisou is stretching the celebrations across the entire month of July with Bastille Month, giving Francophiles plenty of opportunities to indulge.
Weekend visitors can settle in for a French-inspired bottomless high tea from $49pp, featuring sweet and savoury treats paired with 90 minutes of French flag-inspired cocktails (July 11,12 and 18, 19). Throughout July the kitchen will be serving comforting winter classics including Beef Bourguignon, Coq au Vin, Duck à l’Orange and Lamb Cassoulet. The lobby bar is also pouring a trio of limited-edition bleu, blanc and rouge cocktails all month long, making it easy to drop in for a taste of France whenever the mood strikes.
In her spare time, she likes long walks down the makeup aisle and performing in Brisbane theatre. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and TikTok @thebeautypalate.
