From France with love

To say that restaurant L’Auberge has been off to a great start is an understatement. They’ve been booked out most weekends since opening in December. Darling met with owners Dimitri and Tamara to learn about their culinary journey and how they ended up in Balmain.

L’Auberge is a true family restaurant – Dimitri, chef and gastronomic mastermind works in the kitchen, while his partner Tamara, works front of house doing everything else.

Dimitri’s love of cooking comes from his aunt and grandmother. “I grew up in Salers, a beautiful village in the Auvergne region in central France and spent many hours in the kitchen learning traditional cooking.”

At 19, Dimitri landed in Sydney for a working holiday and fell in love with the city. He worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant in Circular Quay and amongst the pots and pans Dimitri’s dreams of owning his own restaurant grew. After the holiday, Dimitri went back to France and trained as a chef.

When working in the south of France Dimitri met Tamara and eventually, he introduced her to the idea of opening a restaurant in Sydney. Having worked in hospitality and holding a tourism degree, Tamara jumped at the idea.

“We arrived in January 2022 and searched all over Sydney for the perfect location. We were about to sign a lease in Glebe when we thought, let’s just think about it over lunch. We’d heard great things about Balmain so went there and I’m so glad we did – we loved the village vibe! When we walked past 358 Darling Street and saw the ‘For Lease’ sign we new we’d found our restaurant.”

Walking through the door at L’Auberge is like being transported to France. The moody antique décor, all French wine list and homemade dishes makes you forget you’re in Sydney.

Dimitri explains that the food is traditionally French and many of the recipes have been passed on to him by his aunt and grandmother. “You won’t find another L’Auberge in Sydney. We make guests feel good and give them a truly authentic experience. We give them a taste of the French countryside right in the heart of Balmain.”

L’AUBERGE

358 Darling St, Balmain @laubergeduboutdumonde

From our Balmain Peninsula based brewery we passionately make some of Australia’s best beer. The Australian Independent Beer Awards recently voted our Lager ‘Champion Independent Overall Beer’ as well as ‘Champion Lager’. Come and visit our dog-friendly taproom and brewery and see for yourself.

BREWERY & TAPROOM - 26 MANSFIELD STREET, ROZELLE

THU to FRI - 4pm to 10pm, SAT - 12pm to 10pm, SUN - 12pm to 8pm