Jacqui Felgate reviews: L’Hotel Gitan — ‘so good I went twice’

You know when a restaurant is so good you can’t wait to go back? When there are so many dishes on the menu you need to return just to try them all? L’Hotel Gitan in Prahran is one such place.

It’s one of our city’s great underrated gems, a place I return to again and again. In fact, for this review I went twice in 10 days.

The art deco building on High Street is a beauty. From the moment you step inside it’s understated cool. One of the reasons I enjoy Gitan so much is the gorgeous open kitchen where you can watch chefs busily preparing half shell scallops with a bloody mary concasse or duck liver parfait with cornichons and croutons, or marvel at whole pigs rotating on the rotisserie.

Over the two afternoons I dined we enjoyed the cured ocean trout with buttermilk horseradish, beats, lovage and herb oil, the duck liver parfait, the bloody mary scallops and a gorgeous octopus a la plancha.

For mains, you can’t go past the steak frites. For me, a 150g eye fillet is the perfect piece of meat, cooked medium rare with a bearnaise sauce. I left without feeling like I’d eaten half a cow for lunch, yet totally satisfied.

The rockling was another stand out dish, served crumbed with a sugar snap salad and a delicious pea puree.

We finished with a crème brulee. Naturally. It doesn’t matter if it’s lunch or dinner, L’Hotel Gitan is magnifique!

Pro tip: Arrive early to enjoy a drink in the front bar before heading into the restaurant. The rotisserie changes daily and is available after 6pm.

L’Hotel Gitan
32 Commercial Rd, Prahran
lhotelgitan.com.au