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France’s famed croque monsieur is probably the most extravagant ham and cheese sandwich you’ll ever experience in your life.
The epic hot sandwich, done well, should ooze cheese, boast a crunchy top and provide just the right balance between layers of cheese, salty ham and béchamel sauce. Hungry yet?
Inspired by the inclusion of the croque monsieur in episode 10 of on SBS, we decided to track down croque monsieurs from across the country. Here are five places you can visit to fall in love with France’s ultimate ham and cheese toastie.
The sandwich should also be crispy on the bottom, moist on the top. The béchamel can’t be too runny or too hard.
Where to get a croque monsieur
1. Bitton
The croque monsieur served at three restaurant-cafes in Sydney is not just a menu feature – it’s an icon. “The croque monsieur has been on the Bitton menu for 23 years and will never come off,” owner and managing director of The Bitton Group, David Bitton, tells SBS.
Bitton says the secret of a great tasting croque monsieur lies in the quality of the ham and consistency of the béchamel. Both of these have to be perfect.
“The sandwich should also be crispy on the bottom, moist on the top. The béchamel can’t be too runny or too hard. Don’t forget to add a touch of fresh nutmeg grated into the béchamel – that makes all of the difference. Always use Gruyère cheese – no other will do. Finally, it must be toasted well.”
Despite the consistent base recipe, Bitton's croque monsieur recipe has been noted to vary over the years. Bitton explains that such variations have allowed for regional differences in the recipe. Sometimes slight variations have also been allowed to enable the French chef at the time to honour their mother back home.
“At the moment, our head chef in Alexandria adds onion and tomato as that’s how his mama used to make a croque monsieur back in France – it’s so delicious!”
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2. Croque Monsieur
In 2021, Melbourne got its very own café paying homage to the glory of the croque monsieur. Located on Flinders Lane, food offering is quite simple: they just make toasties “but done the French way”.
What is the French way, according to this quaint café? Croque Monsieur says it focuses on using high quality, authentic ingredients just as they would in France. The famous croque monsieur at Croque Monsieur therefore only uses cheese from France.
The beauty of this café is that if you ever want to branch out and try other French classics, you can. Croque Monsieur offers a Raclette toastie featuring French Raclette cheese, ham, caramelised onions and a sweet tatin sandwich with caramelised apples and homemade salted caramel.
3. Café Rafele
It’s easy to imagine yourself eating a croque monsieur at a local café in a French beachside town when you crunch down on the traditional sandwich, served at this Coogee beach café.
croque monsieur combines smoked Bangalow ham with Gruyère cheese and Dijon mustard. It comes dipped in béchamel sauce.
“We believe freshness is of the utmost importance when you make a croque monsieur,” a café spokesperson tells SBS. “That’s paired with the fact that we stick to classic flavour combinations.”
4. Garcon
in Sydney offers croque monsieurs at both of its venues in Lane Cove and at the Tramsheds, Glebe. However, Garcon’s version is tasty although it may be considered slightly controversial due to its inclusion of mornay sauce. The hot ham and cheese sandwich comes at Garcon comes served on Sonoma sourdough alongside a green salad.
5. Hey Jupiter Brasserie Francaise
The croque monsieur experience at in Adelaide is delightfully flexible. We love the fact that croque monsieur is included on the main menu along side duck confit and beef Bourguignon. You can also have the hot sandwich during a dine-in breakfast or opt for a takeaway croque monsieur.
Either way, the sandwich is always made the same delicious way, with ham, cheese, béchamel, Dijon mustard and tomato chutney. So satisfying.
