Sarah N.
Yelp
Hmmm...struggling with this review and waffling between 3 and 4 stars. I will start by saying that the ambiance at Hubert is spectacular. When you walk in through the front door, you are led down a corridor and stairs that brings you down below street level to the primary seating with a bar and performance area for live music. A very speakeasy feel.
We arrived relatively early on a Thursday, and despite there being plenty of seating available on the floor, they first attempted to seat us at the bar. Upon asking, we were able to be seated in one of the many available, non-reserved tables. From there, there was a vast menu of items. It became very clear that this French restaurant primarily serves small dishes with the intent of being shared among many. As we only had a table of two, our waiter recommended 5 dishes of varying portion sizes. Ultimately, the bill came out to be 70 AUD/person, which translates to about $50 USD/person. Was the experience generally good? Yes. But if I'm paying over $100 for two people, I expect to leave the restaurant full.
For the food we ordered (and choose wisely because I think this matters):
- Abalone Rillette - slow cooked greenlip abalone and confit pork belly. 3.5/5. A little salty, but the pork and the abalone was very tender.
- Oeufs en Gelee - soft egg yolk, bonito jelly, trout roe, avruga. 1/5. Based on the menu description, I never would have imagined that this dish is strictly jello on a plate, with some roe and egg yolk. I anticipated that the dish would be a little more substantial. The taste was fishy as it was roe and bonito jelly, and did very little to fill us up. Would not recommend.
- Malakoff - fried gruyere, dijon mustard, dill pickle. 4/5. Just as advertised. Simple but delicious.
- Bavette Steak - 300 g grilled rangers valley flank, bordelaise butter. 3.5/5. Steak was very good, cooked well, and the bordelaise butter was a great accompaniment. A little pricey for the quantity and presentation.
- Pommes Anna - layered potato, beurre blanc. 5/5. Literally potatoes fried and presented beautifully, with a delicious sauce. Another one of these simple, but worth it, dishes.
Ultimately, we had an enjoyable experience, but were a little turned off by the price tag, initial seating service, and the variance in the food we ordered.