Elliot Stables,
39 Elliot Street,
Auckland Central
Auckland,
(09) 368 7917
The ViewAuckland Review
4 out of 5 stars
I’ve been overseas for couple of months, but sitting in the newest addition to the growing range of eateries in Elliot Stables, it’s as if I’ve had a last minute detour to the back streets of Paris. Torchon, (it means tea towel in French apparently), is the latest opening from the proudly Gallic crew that brought Bouchon in Kingsland, and Pastis in Nelson St, to Francophile Aucklanders.
Like Bouchon, Torchon is a crêperie, with a range of sweet crêpes and savoury galettes on offer. Other French flavours like French Onion Soup and Croque Monsieur sandwiches feature if Parisian-style pancakes aren’t your thing.
Auckland’s winter weather is doing its best to recreate a stormy February afternoon in Paris as we take a seat in the restored church pews that fill Torchon’s slim and cosy space. A relaxed blur of French vowels and consonants flows from the open kitchen, and the wooden and lime-washed interior is punctuated with vintage French advertising. The concise wine list is proudly French-only, and draught Kronenbourg beer and bottles of cider are further authentic touches.
Beside us a couple of tired-eyed refugees from the Film Festival are tucking into delicate crêpes topped with lemon and sugar ($4.50), but we go for a savoury pairing of the French onion soup ($9.50), and a Normande galette ($11.50). With caramelised onions and deliciously stringy grated cheese, the soup is an ideal lunch, while the buckwheat galette crammed full of bacon, apple and cinnamon, could be my new favourite brunch. Coffee from the Brazilian crew at Santos is perfectly robust.
Open from 10am to 4.30pm Monday to Saturday, Torchon is an ideal spot to catch up with friends or as a gently, gently entrée to a weekend. It’s also open for dinner (to around 8pm) on Thursdays and Fridays, and Thursday’s traditional raclette night from 6pm mixes grilled and melted cheese with fresh vegetables and meats. Bookings are recommended for this weekly get together that also features live French music.
With Torchon joining the Italian-style La Bruschetteria and the German-tinged sausages at Frankie’s Wurstube, (we’ll be reviewing there in a few weeks time), Elliot Stables is fast becoming an essential destination for Aucklanders who care about good food. And while airfares keep rising, it makes also a handy substitute for the long haul to Europe.
Torchon has been reviewed by 5 users