Venues
The French Exit
The French Exit is Brisbane’s ode to Paris, alive with clatter, candlelight, and the European perfume of butter and wine. Steak frites, duck à l’orange, and escargot, are served with soul, while wine makes for the heartbeat with over five hundred bottles carefully chosen.
The tables are close, the energy unfiltered, and every detail whispers 'bistrot'.
Menus
Location
169 Mary Street,
Brisbane City,
QLD 4000
Map & Directions
Open Hours
Opening on Monday 15 December
Office Hours:
Mon-Sun, 9am-5pm
Contact Us
Bookings & Enquiries
(07) 3495 1775
Reservations:
hello@thefrenchexit.com.au
Events:
events@thefrenchexit.com.au
The brief is simple: French bistrot essentials cooked with intent.
In the kitchen, John Paul and Ryan have earned the folds in their chefs’ hats. Together they lead a team that works in the classic grammar of French cooking. Stocks, jus, beurre blanc, pan sauces, all knitted with Brisbane’s famed produce and warmth.
Expect a menu built around familiar pillars: charcuterie and small plates to open; shellfish and seafood that lean into citrus, butter and herbs; grilled and roasted meats with proper sauces; and sides where vegetables are treated as centrepieces rather than afterthoughts.
Flavours stay firmly in the canon, faithful to the French play on palate. Sharp vinaigrettes against rich fats, smoke against cream, pepper and tarragon cutting through butter, a little acid where you need it most. Desserts are unapologetically French in spirit, the mood is a patisserie carousel. Few can pass up choux, custard, chocolate and cream. We certainly couldn’t.
Never the same yet always familiar, this is local produce meeting French technique in a room designed for returning to, especially on the nights when you would rather let someone else cook while you focus on the wine, the night and each other.
The bar thinks like the kitchen: generous, grounded, and exact. The je ne sais quoi here is about lost time you never end up missing.
Nearly 600 references anchor a France-first wine list — benchmark regions, smartly priced discoveries, and rare bottles — balanced by Australian producers chosen to fit the food and the city.
There is a dedicated 500-bottle wine list for browsing, plus a concise by-the-glass list for weekday quick decisions.
Cocktails keep it French-accented (Byrrh and apricot in a gin sour; Calvados-led spirit-forward builds; a daiquiri threaded with pastis; Côte d’Azur citrus in the Margarita). The spirits shelf favours character over noise.
From the simplest pour to a cellar piece, every sip is about presence — selected to serve the people around the table, not anyone else.
Our semi-private alcove, screened by half-height stained-glass partitions, seats 25 and is ideal for long lunches, celebrations, and business dinners that still want the full bistrot buzz.
For something larger, you can hire The French Exit exclusively for a sit-down lunch or dinner; full venue capacity is 80 guests.
The French Exit Event Enquiry Form
Please note that all fields are required to be filled out.
The French Exit lives on the ground floor of a heritage corner site on Mary Street and feels like it’s always been there. Inside, Sydney interior designer Tamsin Johnson has created what feels like an amuse-bouche in room form: glossy walls, dark timber, soft tan leather banquettes, stained-glass partitions and buttercream tones wrapped around an imported bar with a neat row of stools.
Outside, the CBD hurries past while the lights stay low and conspiratorial.
Tables are set deliberately close for a true Parisian bistrot hum: the clatter of cutlery, low conversation, a flicker of candlelight on glassware and bottle green. It’s a room built for long lunches that drift into apéritif hour, a solitary steak frites at the bar with the paper, or a night that runs a bottle or two later than intended. Pass the Lillet Blanc, s’il vous plaît.
The kitchen honours French classics while reading them through Brisbane’s blossoming dining culture. Think seasonal produce, precise technique, zero fuss.
The cellar leans deep into la cave — Bourgogne, Bordeaux, Provence — filled with thoughtful Australian listings that tip the hat but stand their own. Cocktails stay close to canon, with thoughtful twists and respectful homages.
Open daily for lunch and dinner, The French Exit is a corner of Paris in Brisbane’s CBD.
Book a table and let the room take you from suburb to arrondissement in the time it takes to wink.
