Brasserie Gavroche French Bistro: Grandpa Henri's Onion Soup

Brasserie Gavroche cooks from a family recipe book, and says so on the menu. Chef Frédéric Colin founded it in 2011 as a tribute to his grandfather, Chef Henri, and the onion soup on today's menu is still Grandpa Henri's recipe at S$22. The brasserie is at 27 Mohamed Sultan Road, Singapore 238971, a short walk from Fort Canning and River Valley, and it opens every day. Anyone looking for a french bistro near me around Robertson Quay should know it.

The name comes from Gavroche, the street boy of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, and the brasserie is built around family memory. Frédéric Colin uses old family recipes to bring back what the restaurant calls oft-forgotten Parisian classics, dishes his grandfather Henri cooked. That is why so many items on the menu carry the line recette de Grand-Père Henri. It is a Parisian brasserie with a family story, not a modern French restaurant borrowing the look.

Colin is also the chef-owner behind Bouillon Gavroche, a newer and more casual sibling that Honeycombers reviewed in June 2026. Do not confuse the two when you book. This article is about Brasserie Gavroche, the original, with its single all-day menu of classic French recipes and the business lunch.

The room is the reason to come at least once. The brasserie lists antique mosaic floor tiles, vintage furniture and, most remarkable, a 1930s bar counter imported from the legendary Café de la Paix in Paris. The website describes warm, amber lighting meant to evoke a classic brasserie in the heart of Paris. Take a seat with a view of that bar if you can; it is an original piece of Paris café history.

Booking is made through the online system on the brasserie's booking page, and the restaurant recommends booking in advance. One dish needs planning: the gigot d'agneau des Pyrénées, a leg of French lamb that serves two to three people, has to be pre-booked, so mention it when you reserve if you want it.

Start with the family classics. Grandpa Henri's traditional onion soup costs S$22, and his baked pork terrine with duck liver, the pâté en croûte et foie gras, is S$30. Burgundy snails in garlic butter are S$21 for half a dozen or S$35 for a dozen, and roasted bone marrow with toasted bread is S$28. Share the pâté en croûte; it is rich, and one portion is plenty for two people to taste.

One honest tip: skip the sole meunière unless you are prepared for a surprise on the bill. It is listed at market price with no figure printed, while everything around it has a clear price. Ask the server for today's price before you order, or stick to the quenelles, which give you the classic butter-and-fish experience at a known S$45.

A dinner for two built from the family recipes looks like this: one onion soup at S$22 and one pâté en croûte at S$30 to share, then the quenelles at S$45 and the confit duck at S$48, plus a side of frites at S$10. That is S$155 before service charge and taxes, and it covers the dishes that carry Grandpa Henri's name as well as the brasserie standards that most first-timers come for.

At lunch, the business lunch menu costs S$58++ for a starter, a main course and coffee, and you can pair it with a glass of red or white wine for an extra S$15. The current menu is dated 16 September 2026. For a working lunch it is the simplest way to eat here, and it costs less than a starter and the steak frites from the main menu.

Timing is the catch. Lunch service runs from 11:30am to 3:30pm, Monday to Sunday, but the last order is at 2pm, so a late lunch after 2 will not work. Dinner runs from 6pm to 12am with the last order at 10pm. All prices are in Singapore dollars and subject to service charge and government taxes. One all-day à la carte menu covers both lunch and dinner.

The brasserie sits a short walk from Fort Canning Park, the green hill above the Singapore River. The Malays have called it Bukit Larangan, the Forbidden Hill, since old times, and Sir Stamford Raffles built his residence on the hill. Walking up the paths after a long lunch is a good way to settle the onion soup and the duck, and the park gives you views back over the city.

Fort Canning MRT station on the Downtown line serves UE Square on the same block and Fort Canning Park, so it is the easiest station for the brasserie. Great World station on the Thomson-East Coast line is the other option if you are coming from the River Valley side. From either one, Mohamed Sultan Road is a short walk, and Robertson Quay's riverside promenade is close for an after-dinner stroll.

Address: Brasserie Gavroche, 27 Mohamed Sultan Road, Singapore 238971. Email: resv@brasseriegavroche.com. Hours: Monday to Sunday, lunch 11:30am to 3:30pm with last order at 2pm, dinner 6pm to 12am with last order at 10pm. Business lunch: S$58++ with coffee. Charges: service charge and government taxes on all prices. Booking: online through the official website.

First visit plan: book a weekday lunch before 1pm, take the business lunch, add a bowl of Grandpa Henri's onion soup to share, and finish with a walk up Fort Canning hill.