The Balfour Kitchen & Bar

The Balfour Kitchen & Bar | Vietnamese inspired, locally sourced.

The seductive and diverse flavours of Vietnamese cuisine have been deliciously shaped by a wide variety of culinary influences over time, and at The Balfour Kitchen and Bar, this exploration and evolution continues with creativity and flair. Fusing the core disciplines and fundamentals of Vietnamese dishes – spicy, sour, bitter, salty and sweet – with the style and élan of French cuisine, the result is an award winning, inventive and edgy experience that takes guests on a journey of exultation.

Beneath the restaurant’s classic corrugated tin roof and sheltered from the street by the gentle branches of a soothing plane tree, Head Chef Lachlan Horstman meticulously devises a menu that is both fresh and indulgent. Creations such as aromatic broths, crispy bao, fried pork neck, turmeric barramundi, hot sticky and sweet beef cheeks, sourdough crumpets and pickled prawn, roast white chocolate and pandan mousse, all delight the palate and stimulate the imagination.

Horstman’s menu showcases sustainable seafood, ethically farmed meats and hero vegetables, sourced from a carefully hand-picked team of small scale, quality food producers. He balances lean, more humble cuts of meats with premium local seafood and Vietnamese flavours to create flavourful dishes, which are delicate, but deep and rich. A considered wine list continues the French influence, with plenty of crisp fragrant styles made from riesling and pinot gris, the minerality of Sancerre and Chablis, and careful selections of gamay, pinot noir and grenache blends.

Guests of Balfour can sit either inside or alfresco on the veranda or leafy courtyard and enjoy drinks before or after in the hidden gem of a rooftop bar.