French cuisine shines at Pompette, Tassis Group’s chic new champagne bar and restaurant
A chic new champagne bar and restaurant has joined Brisbane’s new wave of French eateries, with Pompette – the latest concept from Tassis Group – opening last week at The Star Brisbane. At Pompette, French staples are showcased in youthful, colour-soaked surroundings, with more than 40 kinds of French champagne perfectly chilled and ready to pop. Take a look inside …
One of the ongoing stories of Brisbane hospitality in 2024 has been the resurgence of French cuisine. Brisbane has always boasted a number of top-flight French restaurants – established institutions like Montrachet, C’est Bon and La Cache à Vin with long histories. Still, this influx of new blood has been welcomed by foodies, with the likes of Petite, Mademoiselle, DUCKFAT, Little Provence and A la Bonne Franquette all putting a fresh spin on the storied cuisine.
Pompette, the brand-new restaurant from Tassis Group at The Star Brisbane, is the latest concept to put French food at its core. It follows hot on the heels of the group’s Mediterranean lamb-centric restaurant Dark Shepherd, which also opened at The Star’s level four dining terrace earlier this month. Pompette marks a bit of a departure for Tassis Group head honcho Michael Tassis, whose portfolio is flush with eateries that either draw some level of influence from his own Greek background or his affinity for steak and seafood.
While Pompette is the first time Michael has explored French gastronomy, the restaurateur has long desired to add the cuisine to his repertoire. That said, Michael is looking to subvert many of the connotations associated with French cooking – namely the perception that it is a costly cuisine, often enjoyed in a fine-dining setting.
“I’ve always been captivated by French cuisine – the artistry, the technique and the craft behind it,” explains Michael. “Yet for many Australians, it can sometimes feel a little intimidating. With Pompette, the vision is to honour the authenticity and quality of French cuisine, while ensuring it’s approachable, shareable and inviting to everyone at the table.”
In order to make Pompette inviting, Michael has engaged frequent collaborators Clui Design and Allo Creative to ideate an aesthetic and branding scheme that captured the flirty and charming essence of France, while making the most of the restaurant’s prime position overlooking the river. Pompette is divided into three key spaces. First is the main interior dining space, which boasts warm timbers, plush yellow banquettes and ruby-hued chairs, intricate mosaic-tiled floors, deep blue carpets, fluted-glass windows, eye-catching artworks and brushed brass light fixtures – a deft melding of texture and colour that creates a sense of a rich comfort that’s just shy of opulent.
A 16-m-long marble champagne and oyster bar faces out towards the terrace, with comfy leather stools offering the perfect perch to enjoy flutes of bubbles and oysters shucked fresh to order (and maybe a bump of caviar, too – because you deserve it). There’s also a umbrella-shaded outdoor terrace boasting views towards South Brisbane and beyond. Pompette is positioning itself to be a go-to for events and intimate gatherings, with three private-dining rooms (appropriately named the Cuvee Room, the Brut Room and the Reserve Room) all able to seat 12 guests.
In the kitchen, head chef Jean Luc Morcellet – a culinary veteran with a wealth of international experience – is crafting a modern menu that is refined, but a tad more come-at-able than the haute cuisine of France’s top-flight restaurants. Like most Tassis Group restaurants, versatility is key with a number of paths one can take to satisfaction.
If one were to go for the full experience, they’d likely start with snacks like a crusty baguette (we suggest enjoying it with the blue-cheese butter), raw beef tartelette with sour cream and caviar, and the chicken liver parfait with condiments. From there, it’s on to entrees – gruyere souffle, scallops bathing in blue cheese and creamed quinoa, escargots with garlic butter and classic steak tartare are all winning options. Pompette’s mains feature a who’s who of French classics like grass-fed steak au poivre, fricasse de poulet (half chicken), gnocchi a la Parisienne with wild mushrooms, and toothfish with bouillabaisse sauce and fennel fondue.
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Those dining as a group should look to large-format dishes MB9+ 400-day grain-fed Stone Axe wagyu côte de boeuf with red wine jus, live rock lobster Thermidor and canard a l’orange – all of which come with two complimentary sides. Save room for dessert – Pompette’s glace au nougat with Grand Marnier, orange peel and raspberry coulis is top notch, as is the fromage selection, which includes five options to choose from.
Pompette’s beverage menu is anchored by a weighty champagne selection, with 40 types of French champagne backed by a further 150 bottles of vino from famed French growing regions like Burgundy, Rhône Valley and Bordeaux. The cocktail list encompasses classics, spritzes and a clutch of signature sips like the Notre Dame, a punchy concoction mixing Flor de Caña rum, strawberry, ginger beer and aromatic bitters.
Pompette is now open to the public seven days a week – operating hours, menu info and booking links can be found in The Directory.