Pardon my French Creperie loves Melbourne
It was only a matter of time before Pardon my French Creperie had its own stand-alone store.
Those who frequent the South Melbourne Market can probably remember the mouth-watering aroma that filled the Market on the weekends. The crepes were in such demand that customers would happily wait upwards of 40 minutes to get their fix.
Now Pardon my French Creperie has expanded the French footprint to a little shop in the heart of South Yarra. The World Loves Melbourne was invited along to taste and explore all things crepes. Although crepes are typically thought of as a dessert, the menu has more than 20 varieties ranging from sweet, savoury, vegetarian and gluten free options.
The base of a crepe is pretty straight forward consisting of flour eggs, milk, butter and a few other ingredients. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity. Owner John Milic and his business partner Pauline Henley-Smith went through including more than 20 trials of batter to perfect the gluten free crepe. It’s the attention to detail, locally sourced products and a “pinch of love” that makes these crepes absolutely scrumptious.
Ham deluxe crepe: leg ham, tasty cheese, baby spinach, seeded mustard and passata
The crepe batter is evenly spread out using a wooden rake as soon as it touches the grill. It’s definitely a skill and you can watch as each “crepe-master” skillfully rotates their wrists to make the perfect golden-brown crepe with crispy edges. I (Randie) gave it a try but never graduated to using batter. I think it’s best to leave it to the team.
Once the base is complete it’s time to fill the crepe. You can get a crepe with toppings as simple as butter or sugar or try one of the signature combinations. If you’re feeling like breakfast, the Green eggs and Ham should do the trick with free range eggs, leg ham, tasty cheese and chives. One of the most popular selections for the evening was the Chicken Special filled with chicken breast, tasty cheese, baby spinach, basil pesto and passata. The sizes of the crepes are quite big so you definitely won’t leave hungry.
Chicken Special crepe
There are 14 signature sweet crepes to choose from. With fillings such as Nutella, bananas, strawberries, maple syrup, caramel fudge and white chocolate you’ll be sure to find a crepe that suits you. But if you don’t, the team is very accommodating so you can build your own crepe too. Just don’t forget to add some ice cream!
Strawberry Magic crepe with bananas instead of strawberries, Nutella and marshmallows and a side of ice cream
Strawberry Dream crepe with freshly sliced strawberries and white chocolate
You can visit Pardon My French Creperie at 396 Chapel Street, Prahran every day from 5pm till 11pm and from 9am on weekends.