France-Soir

01What to order

• Entrecôte, 250 g / 9 ozScotch fillet with frites and salad, A$54 on the 2026 menu; the entrecôte with frites is the cut Sitchu names first.
• Côte de boeufRib eye on the bone, sold at A$15 per 100 g / 3.5 oz; Time Out's October 2026 steak guide calls it the one to order here.
• Véritable steak au poivre, 250 g / 9 ozScotch fillet coated in black pepper, A$54; Concrete Playground's 2024 guide names the scotch fillet with black pepper sauce as the favourite cut here.
• Onglet à l'échalotte, 220 g / 8 ozHanger steak with shallots, A$49, the least expensive cut and a regulars' favourite in Broadsheet's 2021 oral history.
• Steak tartare, 100 g / 3.5 oz or 200 g / 7 ozRaw minced fillet with condiments, A$30 or A$51, made to order with the spice level chosen by the diner.

02The beef

The menu states that all the beef is O'Connor free-range, grass-fed and dry-aged beef from Gippsland; it does not give the number of days. Boss Hunting described the steak as pasture-fed O'Connor beef in March 2024. The cuts are scotch fillet (250 g / 9 oz), eye fillet (280 g / 10 oz), porterhouse (300 g / 11 oz), hanger (220 g / 8 oz) and rib eye on the bone by weight; no breed or marble score is stated. Sauces are béarnaise, Normande (wild mushrooms, Calvados and cream), bordelaise (red wine, shallots and bacon) and pepper (cream with brandy).

03The fire

No source names the grill or its fuel; the menu calls the section Grillades and lists the steaks with frites and salad. Steakpedia leaves the fire unstated.

04The story

France-Soir opened on Feb. 20, 1986. Prunetti had arrived in Australia in 1972 and waited tables at Les Halles in Richmond before Vogel, a former professional rugby player, found the shop for lease; the partnership lasted until March 1988, when Vogel returned to France. The first room was a tiny deli-like space with black-and-white tiles. Joachim Inacio, hired after Prunetti tasted his quiche, ran the kitchen from 1986 to 2000; Geraud Fabre, who arrived from France in 1996, has been chef de cuisine since 2000 and is only the second head chef in the restaurant's history, per Gourmet Traveller in 2007. The house is named after a French daily newspaper. The wine list grew from a BYO afterthought into a cellar above the bistro: more than 2,000 references in 2021, about 2,100 in Broadsheet's 2026 listing, and more than 8,000 bottles according to Time Out; it took Victoria's top award at The Bubbly Review's 2025 awards. The current menu carries the mark "40 ans".

05The practical

11 Toorak Road, South Yarra, near South Yarra station. Open every day from noon to midnight with continuous service, per the 2026 menu and Time Out. Bookings by phone only, on 03 9866 8569; there is no online booking. BYO at lunch only, Monday to Wednesday, with no corkage (not on public holidays). Sides run from A$5 for frites to A$12; French cheeses A$29; house desserts A$19.

Address

11 Toorak Road, South Yarra VIC 3141

Phone

+61 3 9866 8569

Website

france-soir.com.au

Directions

Google Maps ↗

06In Melbourne’s selections