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Time to brush up on your 12 times tables. Prahran bar Gigi launches a $12 French menu undercutting the $14 one at city bistro Frenchie. Which is better? We went to find out.
Five months in, demand is yet to die down for Frenchie, a city bistro where almost everything is $14. But a new set-price French menu has just entered the chat – and it’s undercutting the competition.
At Prahran bar Gigi, sibling to nearby brasserie Entrecote, all dishes are now just $12. It’s been an immediate success since launching earlier this month, with lines snaking through the foyer, out the door and sometimes around the corner.
But how good is the food, the value and the vibe? And how does it compare to Frenchie? Good Food visited anonymously, then spoke to co-owner Jason Jones about the concept.
Where did the idea come from?
“To be honest, Frenchie is really what kicked it off,” says Jones. However, he ran an even more queue-worthy deal for Entrecote’s 10th birthday in April: 10 dishes for $10 for 10 days.
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How have people responded?
The numbers speak for themselves. “Last Saturday night at Gigi we did 470 covers,” Jones says. “This time last winter we might’ve done 70.”
How are they making it work?
“It’s definitely all about turnover,” says Jones. Gigi is now walk-ins only so the flow of service isn’t impacted by people late for their booking. Staff may turn tables up to six times a night – more than double the average restaurant.
‘Last Saturday night at Gigi we did 470 covers. This time last winter we might’ve done 70.’
Gigi co-owner Jason JonesGigi’s menu has also been condensed to charcuterie, dips and hand-held French snacks. Some exxy produce is gone, but some loss-leaders live on. At $12, the cheeseburger is a steal in this context, with a juicy Angus beef patty, red-wine pickled shallots and cognac aioli.
There are some $12 cocktails and wines, but unlike at Frenchie, most of Gigi’s drinks list is still regularly priced (and regularly ordered from, at least on the night we visited).
How does the food compare to Frenchie?
Frenchie is a fully fledged restaurant serving, yes, some snacks, but several meaty mains like duck a l’orange and steak with entrecote sauce, which are a win for the price tag.
Gigi’s bar snacks are less cheffy and more casual – a carby and cheesy affair – with the “mostly heat-and-serve” menu prepped at Entrecote and churned out of a tiny service kitchen. (It’s too small for a fryer so the only frites you’ll get are $6 potato crisps.)
Gougeres are warm and light, but perhaps a little too airy. Herby, creamy chicken mix fills a nostalgic toasted sandwich with a butter-lathered shell. And the escargot would go down a tad easier if you didn’t have to pay an extra $6 for baguette to mop up the garlic and parsley butter.
How about value?
Overall, the bang for your buck is better at Frenchie, where the offering is broader, usually cooked to order and more protein-forward, with pricier seafood and meat dishes.
But it’s like comparing apples and oranges. The question is: which do you feel like?
Want a full-on French feast? Book Frenchie. Want to snack your way to satiation? Join the queue at Gigi. Either way, you’re getting a three-course meal for less than $50.
And vibe?
Fleetingness is part of the deal when dining at Gigi and Frenchie. But the former makes you want to linger a little longer – among chandeliers and candlelight in its Parisian-style salon – while at the latter you can at times feel like a cog in the well-oiled machine.
Open lunch Sun (high tea only), dinner Wed-Sat
Level 1/143 Greville Street, Prahran, gigimelbourne.com.au
