Thursday, December 29, 2011

Review : The Montpellier Public House - CLOSED

141 Belmore Road 
Randwick NSW 2031



Tel: 61 2 9399 9660
e: enquiries@montpellierpublichouse.com.au

Public Bar – 7 days – Midday to Midnight

Dining Room – Tuesday to Sunday – from 6pm

I ended up losing count of the number of times we said we would book a dinner at Balzac. It seems everytime we planned to, something came up, until finally Balzac closed its doors.

Thankfully we didn't have to wait too long for Matthew Kemp to reopen the doors again, this time under the guise of The Montpellier Public House.

Having learnt our lesson, we decide a visit this time is very much in order.

The restaurant is split in two - the Public Bar & the Fine Dining Restaurant. Tonight we decide to dine downstairs in the Public Bar.
The room feels like a modern take on the English Pub. It is a perfect fusion of old & new with gorgeous sandstone walls & timber furniture. It is a very inviting, comfortable space.

Drinks ordered (a 'Little Creatures Bright Ale' for me and 'The Apple Thief Pink Lady Cider' for Buggles), we look over the very tempting menu.





We start things off with Crackling, Witlof & Watercress, the name says it all really...crunchy pork crackling served with the slightly bitter witlof, alongside the ever so acidic watercress, the combination is simply divine.


Yorky Puds with mustard are crisp & delicious, the combination of English & French mustards works really well with the puds and, as an added bonus, they really clear the sinus and nasal passages.
We prefer our Yorkies slightly more doughy, but these were very good nonetheless.


The Welsh Rarebit is one of the better ones we have had; very cheesy and, with a touch more worcestershire and mustard, it would be perfection.


Pickled Beets, Goats Curd, Orange & Walnuts is fresh and really lovely. The flavours work really well together; goats curd & beetroot really are a match made in heaven.


‘Jacobs Ladder’ of Beef, Sauce Gribiche & Onion Rings is a revelation. The rib meat is shredded, coated & fried and is spectacular; the Gribiche is slightly creamy with some tang to it & the onion rings are superb (not remotely oily).


We end all this, with some very thick cut chips accompanied by a too perfect Béarnaise.

And when I say end, of course I mean the end before dessert.


My Trifle is very good and unbelievably light. The combination of jelly, cream & white chocolate really hits the spot.


Buggles really enjoys her Chocolate Eclair stuffed with Malted Milk Ice Cream and Hot Chocolate. The Choux pastry is spot on, the ice cream creamy & rich as is the hot chocolate sauce. 

A fantastic, very reasonably priced, meal along with very good service - who could ask for more? Certainly not us.

Montpellier does a roast every Sunday & this will be the reason for our next visit....can't wait.

Squeak
The Montpellier Public House on Urbanspoon

4 comments:

Simon Leong said...

i fondly remember enjoying their pork crackling. you've reminded me i need to blog post my visit now :-)

Tina@foodboozeshoes said...

Wow, the downstairs menu looks every bit as awesome as the upstairs. I've been wanting to try Welsh rarebit for years - I know where now!

Dumpling Girl said...

The food here looks so rich, but comforting. You're convinced me to visit soon, especially with the eclair it looks truly decadent.

Unknown said...

The colors of all food's is really awesome.