BRASSERIE LÉON, TTDI: Simple Classic French Fares

Located on the 1st floor of Greens Terrace in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Brasserie Léon is a welcoming eatery for a simple French meal. There’s an easy contemporary feel in the chic shades of blue and grey echoing throughout the restaurant. In the day time, lots of natural light streams into the premise through the huge expanse of glass occupying most of the walls. But we were there for dinner and the whole place took on a cosy romantic ambience, thanks to the enchanting fairy lights and muted rays from the overhead floral light fittings.

Glancing through the menu, I could see that chef-owner Geoffroi Herin (who hails from Lyon, France) likes to keep things simple and pretty basic. His repertoire is kept to the traditional and essential – this is the place for a fuss-free simple French meal. After all, the brasserie is modelled after French eateries known for simple inexpensive single dishes. The menu lists a concise selection of Bites (appetisers), Specialities (Mains), Add-Ons and Desserts. There’s also a short selection of beverages, bottled beers, red & white wines and whiskies.

Homemade Bread with Butter (RM5.90)

Once we were seated, appetisers like the classic Escargots – half a dozen of the baked shell-less version cooked in fragrant garlic parsley butter sauce made its way to our table. This was followed by the Flame Cured Mackerel served with cucumber and shallots vinaigrette. The thin slices of mackerel, pickled with rice vinegar still maintained a lovely umami marine taste.

The Deep-fried Brie Cheese Balls were full of rich creamy cheesy goodness. I particularly loved the sweet red onion ginger chutney served as it cuts through some of the richness of brie.

The signature item here is the classic French Steak & Fries served with a secret sauce – a favourite with many. The Roast Spring Chicken is also another popular order here – a dish you can order with a variety of bites (sides). Love how these are served on those oval stainless steel plates commonly used in Chinese eateries!

Brasserie Léon serves some of the best fries around. I’m not a fan of fries generally but I found I couldn’t stop popping those addictive fries into my mount! The double-fried crispy fries were so good I was almost tempted to order another portion!

Half Dozen Baked Shell-less Escargot (RM16.90) with garlic butter

Deep-fried Brie Cheese with red onion chutney (RM15.90)

Flamed Cured Mackerel (RM13.90) with Cucumber and shallots vinaigrette

Roast Spring Chicken (half bird) RM19.90 served with traditional chicken jus, house-made French fries and green salad

Grilled Australian Grain-fed Beef Striploin (180g) RM49.90 served with secret signature sauce, house-made French fries and green salad

At Brasserie Léon, raclette is one of the highlights. We thoroughly enjoyed the Traditional version: delicious warm gooey cheese scraped onto a plate of steamed potatoes, gherkins and pickled onions. It can also be served with Poutine, Shredded Roast Chicken, Smoked Duck Breast or Streaky Beef. Another option is to have raclette scraped over their favourite dishes from the menu (at RM22.90/100g).

Traditional Raclette (RM32.90)

Save some space for desserts. Don’t expect any fancy sweets as in typical brasserie style, dessert options were just Creme Brûlée, Chocolate Mousse and Tiramisu Verrine.