If you’re a bit of a Francophile, Le Triskel will be right up your alley. They serve their café au lait French style, in ‘le bol’ (that’s a bowl, for us Aussies), all of the waiters are French, and yes, even the menu is in French. Few people can resist a French accent, and we suspect that plenty of people return to Le Triskel just to hear the waiters’ lilting speech.
Nestled amongst its Italian cousins on Hardware Lane, Le Triskel is famous throughout Melbourne for its authentic galettes and crepes. The menu includes a selection of French wines and cheeses, ciders and plenty of simple, well executed dishes such as the Croque Monsieur — a sophisticated version of what we Aussies unromantically call a ham and cheese toastie. The Croque Monsieur’s bechamel sauce and gruyere cheese put the humble Aussie toastie in pretty poor light!
There are heaps of galettes to choose from, but the pick of the bunch (according to us) is L’Auvergnate, which arrives overflowing with blue cheese, walnuts, apple and prosciutto. The flavour combination is sublime. If you haven’t tried a galette, you must. Unlike some of the dodgy versions floating around, these ones aren’t just crepes with a savoury filling. They’re created from buckwheat flour, and they’re amazing.
The sweet crepes are incredible — light and crisp, as all good crepes should be, some with chestnut puree, others with banana and nutella or a traditional apple and cinnamon filling. The pain du chocolate and croissants will have to wait for another visit.
Owner Michail has plenty of French magazines and books for the lone diner, and he’s always got something French on the playlist — Serge Gainsbourg on this occasion. If you time your visit right, you can enjoy live jazz drifting down the laneway.
If you’re looking for a fully fledged French experience, this is your kind of place.
Le Triskel
32 Hardware Lane,
Melbourne VIC 3000
Opening Hours
Tuesday — Thursday 7.00am — 4.00pm
Friday 7.00am — 9.00pm
Saturday 9.00am — 4.00pm
