The French Quarter Patisserie , North Melbourne by Snooze

Family commitments meant that Big Fil and I didn't wander out for our usual Sunday morning breakfast; I had family commitments and spent an enjoyable but exhausting day helping my eldest Miss W move house. But the day wasn't an entire bust when my youngest Miss C wanted to drop into the French Quarter Patisserie in North Melbourne on our way home.


This isn't the first time I've visited the French Quarter. Big Fil and I dropped in and bought a few cakes over the counter back in April after we'd visited the Court House Hotel for lunch. We were feeling full at the time and on our usual post dining walk, but that didn't stop us picking up a little for later on. In my case it was a lovely box of mini cakes; I can't remember the exact price but it was around $7.


This time around we arrived pretty late in the day (somewhere around 4 in the afternoon) and had the shop pretty much to ourselves. At first we were going to sit outside, given how warm the day was, but when we had the choice of one of the cosy window seats I opted for that. I'm probably one of the few diners in Melbourne who prefers to eat inside no matter the weather.

There weren't a huge amount of savoury items to choose from; actually there was roast vegetable quiche and a ham and cheese croissant ... fortunately, Miss C's a fan of quiche. It was a decent size, filled with spinach and topped with roasted tomato, pumpkin and eggplant. I'm not a fan of microwave heated food but the quiche was a good temperature and in this case the pastry didn't suffer too much from being heated up.


We also opted for two desserts, the frangipani tart with raspberries and blueberries being Miss C's favourite. The texture of the tart reminded me somewhat of a friand: it had the slightly dense grainy texture friands seem to have, but it didn't have the slightly syrupy texture. I enjoyed the tart too, but the bits I liked were more the berries and crunchy almond sliver topping than the tart itself.


I tried the lemon tart when I got the box of takeaway and I was interested to see whether it was as good this time ... and it was. The lemon custard was beautifully creamy and tart without being toned down too much by sugar. I also liked the pastry on both tarts, which was substantial and crunchy, and wasn't in the slightest soggy after being refrigerated all day. Probably one of the best lemon tarts I've had.


Overall
We arrived at the Patisserie around closing time, but there were still a few people passing through. The last time I visited, around 2pm on a Sunday, it was very busy, inside and out, and I'd recommend arriving early to get a seat. What I was most impressed with this visit, in spite of the stand out lemon tart, was the service. Our waitress offered a second plate to share the quiche, without being asked, and more than once rearranged our table (which was tiny) to make more room for us. The best service, in this respect, I can remember having.

Verdict
Food - 7
Service - 8
Ambience - 6
Price - 7

Address
570 Queensberry Street
North Melbourne VIC
Tel: (03) 9326 9099