FLYING HIGH
This bijoux brasserie offers an all-day slice of French heaven in Adelaide, writes KATIE SPAIN.
Close your eyes during service at petite French diner Hey Jupiter and you’ll swear you’re in Paris. French accents and the smell of pastries fill the air. Open your peepers and the fairy tale continues.
The décor is delightful. Vintage mirrors adorn the walls, reflecting the tendrils of foliage hanging from the roof, a bar stocked with top-shelf spirits and towering tributes to the French post-impressionist painter Henri Rousseau. At full swing it feels just like a Parisian café.
That’s exactly what French restaurateur Christophe Zauner and his partner Jacqui Lodge were going for when they opened their small brasserie in 2012; to bring French joie de vivre and gastronomie to Australia.
The pair had plenty of inspiration from which to draw. Zauner is originally from Alsace and after moving to Australia in 1993, settled in Melbourne and worked in “practically every French restaurant in the city”. When he and Lodge made the move to Adelaide they dedicated themselves to bringing the best of his homeland to South Australia, gathering a devoted following in the process. After taking over the adjacent site in 2017, Hey Jupiter now seats 32 outdoors and 24 indoors. A perch at one of the sun-soaked kerbside tables makes for prime people spotting. The exterior’s head-turning white and green tiles were inspired by Paris Metro stations.
The Petit Déjeuner (breakfast menu) delivers hit after hit of French classics; from croque-monsieur to les huitres (six freshly shucked oysters served with a glass of Louis Roederer Champagne). On weekends, a sociable crowd makes good use of the extended 3.30pm breakfast hours and cocktails. Déjeuner (lunch) boasts an assortment of charcuterie, saucisson sec, terrine du jour, escargots a l’ail (snails swimming in garlic butter and parsley), beef tartare, salade Niçoise, tartines and open sandwiches; all fit for sharing. The soupe a l’oignon is all depth and decadence. Plats (mains) include steak minute with obligatory fries, confit de canard (duck confit with duck fat potatoes) and demi poulet roti (half roasted chicken with jus and French peas). Weekly specials (scrawled on a wall-length mirror) include foie gras (from France), half a SA rock lobster, and caviar, while Paris-Brest – a pillow of choux pastry filled with hazelnut praline – is a popular dessert. The global wine list is full of French stunners from Loire, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Jura, Beaujolais, Rhone Valley and beyond. This alone attracts a well-travelled clientele. Add exemplary service (most of which is delivered with an authentic French accent) to the mix and you’ve got a winning combination; nostalgia for French nationals and a taste of things to come for anyone yet to make the journey abroad.