Le Bon Ton is a New Orleans-inspired oyster saloon, smokehouse, cocktail bar and absinthe den in Melbourne’s Collingwood. Think exposed brick walls, copper studded bar, velvet mustard chesterfields, chandeliers overhead and a fairy-light dappled courtyard. It’s an atmospheric place to revel in some early-20th-century jazz and blues, American craft beer and a punchy menu of Southern favourites including pit-smoked meats and fried chicken.
“Laissez les bon temps rouler!” is a common exclamation heard around New Orleans. For over 250 years revelers have shouted the mantra and toasted to
its principles. As you travel outside the city, you will notice that is the phrase is shortened and simplified by the locals. The rules of the French language are discarded and the accents changed. Away from the neon lights of Bourbon street, “Le bon tomps rula” is a much more common phrase. It or one of its Cajun/Creole variations is a common toast heard in the local roadside bars, oyster houses, crab shacks and BBQ joints of the Louisiana countryside. The ultimate simplification, which rolls perfectly off the tongue (even after a few prior toasts) and still embodies the spirit of the original, is only 3 words long: Le Bon Ton. Le Bon Ton’s food menu showcases dishes and cooking techniques drawn from multiple regions of the American South. Our smokehouse brisket is done Texas-style. Our blackened fish and crab cakes come from the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Inspiration for our dishes comes from as far west as New Mexico and as far east as Alabama. Two brothers who were born in Alabama and raised in Texas head up our kitchen teamboth have toured and worked extensively throughout the South. Jeremy is usually found out the back manning the offset smoker, Cristopher on the pans in the kitchen. The bar stays true to the traditional flavours of the South. Cocktail ingredients can range from sweet teas to fresh peaches to pressed mint. All beer is served frothy from the tap. The absinthes are complex, the whiskey smooth and the Champagne is ice
cold.
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