This Frenchman expanded his vineyard biz into a KL bistro specialising in wine pairings

This might shock some of you, but not all French restaurants are fine dining restaurants.

Although French fine dining is certainly world renowned, the more laidback French bistros also have much to offer. And that bistrot culture is something that Delia Wines and Bistro in Kuala Lumpur aims to offer.

A legacy of wine

The man behind the business is Laurent Robert. Now 56 years old, Laurent has been living in Malaysia since 1997.

Before he delved into F&B, Laurent had worked in HVAC—heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Specifically, he worked as a district cooling systems and equipment supplier covering the Asia Pacific area.

HVAC expert aside, though, Laurent is also the fourth-generation owner of The Robert Estate, a French vineyard founded in the 1900s.

The estate was created by his great grandparents, Juliette and Jules Robert, before World War I. Both of them were farmers, with grapes being one of the crops they farmed.

One week into the war, though, Jules passed away, leaving the estate with Juliette who took care of it and her three children.

Laurent’s parents eventually took over, but in 2011, they retired, passing the key of the estate to him and his brother.

Today, Laurent’s brother is in charge of all mechanical works while he has employed a worker to take care of the vines while living in Malaysia.

Laurent often travels back to France as well. Just this year, he has travelled back four times, for both pleasure and business. His last visit was in September for holidaying and harvesting purposes.

Expanding from drinks to foods

Even before taking over the estate, Laurent had already been importing and dealing French boutique wines, including his father’s champagne brand.

In 2015, he decided to stop corporate businesses and concentrate more on promoting French wines.

To do that, Laurent decided to dabble in something tried and true—wine and food pairings. As a start, he began cooking from home, inviting his clientele to try the combinations.

“We were doing once a month, then once a week, and more and more [frequently],” he said. “So, it was time to stop cooking from home and move forward to open a restaurant.”

And that’s how Delia Wines and Bistro got its TTDI location in March 2020. That’s right, they set up shop right as the pandemic was happening.

“We could have stopped this project, but with our entrepreneurial passion, we kept going and re-opened in August 2020,” Laurent shared.

Not compromising French authenticity

Described as a “beloved character amongst oenophiles in KL” by The Yum List, Laurent has collected a database of wine lovers and thus customers for Delia Wines and Bistro.

For a few years, the concept at Delia was to change up the menu as much as possible, and up till December 2023, they were changing the plat du jour (special of the day) weekly. Tuesday would be duck or game meat, Wednesday for beef, Thursday lamb, Friday for seafood, and poultry on Saturday, and Sunday oftentimes involved pork. 

But now, the plat du jour is typically set monthly. Of course, specials aside, they also serve plenty of food a la carte.

As a French restaurant, Delia offers dishes like foie gras, escargot, frog legs, sweetbread, homemade black pudding, bavette a l’echalotte, and steak tartare—typical bistro foods found in France.

“I tried to cover as much as possible food from different parts of France,” Laurent shared.

Starting out, the food at Delia Wines and Bistro had been more of a complementary element to the wines. However, nowadays, Laurent believes that the food and the wines are both “on the same level”.

As he explained, “People can dine with us without consuming wines.”

When asked about how he may have localised their menu to suit Malaysian taste buds, his answer was simple: “We did not.”

He elaborated, “I love the chilli padi and bunga katan in local cuisine, but for us at Delia Wines, we are more on butter and cream.”

Spreading good food and great wines

While the food portion of the business seems to have taken off with gourmands, Delia Wines is still a key part of the business as the importer and distributor of French and Italian wines. According to Laurent, they carry more than 110 references.

“I try to get wines by appellation in France to introduce to Malaysians different type of wines from different regions,” the owner said. “We have a lot, including white wines, champagne, rose, and red.”

To continue introducing their wines, the bistro hosts many relevant events. For instance, they organised an event on October 25 to celebrate World Champagne day with a six-course champagne pairing dinner.

Up next on November 21, they will host Beaujolais night (a sort of vineyard harvest festival), offering a buffet and Beaujolais wines.

“When we started, many curious customers were thinking French restaurant equals fine dining,” he said. “There are plenty of fine dining restaurant in Malaysia, [some with] Michelin recognition as well.”  

“We don’t have the vocation to go in this field,” Laurent said. “Remember I am a mechanical engineer and champagne estate owner.”

So, instead of fine dining-level cuisine, Laurent’s hope is that Delia will simply be known for its homecooked-style meals and good, convivial ambiance, all while introducing a great wine selection at good prices.

Featured Image Credit: Delia Wines and Bistro