Can a Gold Coast watering hole cum supper club whose decibel level stops just short of painful produce food worthy of serious attention? For Yvette, the answer is a resounding yes.
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The setting, however, doesn’t match the food. Tables are too close together, and there’s no smoke-free zone. Conversation is only possible at full volume, as the two pianists take their work seriously and pound out a storm–everything from light classics to show tunes–on the twin keyboards. It’s best to go early, when there are at any rate fewer voices.
The front part of the restaurant, separated from State Street by a wall of glass, is a cafe, offering light fare from a limited menu. Going deeper into the room you’ll find a bar on the right and, opposite, the two pianos and additional bar seating. Just beyond this center section is the restaurant proper. Here dark green predominates, from the square patterned carpeting to the embossed tin ceiling. Straight lines and sharp angles are softened by dim recessed lighting and hanging lamps. Pillars add some visual interest, as do an exposed brick wall on one side and a mural on the other. The mural depicts a bare-backed beauty, circa 1930, perched on a bar stool, a black Scotch terrier beneath her and two white ones alongside. Its tone might be called tongue-in-chic.
Reasonably priced wines make choosing fun. We had a Chateauneuf du Pape, Petrarque ’83 ($21), a moderately complex example of the breed. For a real bargain, one can choose from the “Yvette basket,” which features four whites and four reds, at $3.75 a glass or $15 a bottle. It includes such reliable varieties as Trefethen White Riesling and Baron Philippe Rothschild Medoc.
