Review : Bistro Moncur

The Woollahra Hotel

116 Queen Street
Woollahra

Lunch

Tue to Sun Noon - 3pm


Dinner
Mon to Sun 6pm - 10:30pm

Buggles and Squeak have loved Bistro Moncur for years now. We have visited often & have never once been disappointed in a meal there.

The clientele is very 'old school' Woollahra, however Buggles and Squeak don't mind this, we have always considered ourselves Eastern Suburbs 'ladies' trapped in Inner West bodies!

It had been a while since our last lunch, so we were very much looking forward to it.


Bistro Moncur doesn't take bookings so it is always best to get there early, be it for lunch or dinner. We arrived right on noon & secured our 'usual' table and sure enough by 1pm the place was buzzing.

The service at Moncur is one of things we have long admired, professional, efficient, never rude.
On this occasion however, we were a little taken aback when our waitperson handed the menus to us in a rather brusque fashion & stormed off. This did continue for a while, however she warmed up to us slightly when she realised we were ordering 'a la carte' and not 'let's do lunch'. 

Buggles started off by ordering the Salad of Caramelised Fennel, Broadbeans, Asparagus and  Goat’s Curd,Toasted Walnuts and their Vinaigrette.
Buggles loves her fennel, so this salad was a real hit with her. The asparagus was well cooked and the walnuts gave a nice crunch. The addition of mint leaves however was the element that she felt really set this dish apart.


It is always hard for me to not order the entree of French Onion Souffle Gratin, I am quite often tempted by the Vine Ripened Tomato Salad, but I just can't go without the souffle.
So souffle it was.

Light & fluffy with a mild onion flavour, the souffle is surrounded by a moat of glorious molten cheese sauce. The souffle, sponge like, soaks up the rich cheese sauce & is truly divine. The best cheese souffle I have ever eaten.

For mains we both decided on Prime Fillet Steak with Sauce Béarnaise. For a long while we considered the steak at Moncur to be the best on offer, however it has recently been surpassed by the steak at Rockpool Bar & Grill. That is not to say that the steak at Bistro Moncur isn't still magnificient....it is. The fillet is tender, moist & cooked on the rarer side of medium rare (which Buggles & I both prefer). The Béarnaise  is the best in the business & the abundance of fries crisp & delicious.

As a side dish we ordered the broccoli with almonds & lashings of butter...as always well cooked with just the right amount of bite.

As it is with the souffle for me, so it is with the Caramel Glazed Apple Tartlet for Buggles...she simply cannot do without it. She is often tempted to try Eve's Chocolate Cake...but always decides on the tartlet.

She is in raptures about the wonderfully crunchy, thinly sliced, toffeed apples....the rich, silky custard and the too perfect pastry. I don't think Buggles could ever give up this dessert.

I went with the Strawberry Moscato Granita with Spring fruit, candied almonds and yoghurt panna cotta.
The granita was perfect with a sweet strawberry zing, the chunks of fruit were very fresh, the candied almonds crunchy & moreish, while the yoghurt panna cotta was tangy & silky smooth. A very light & refreshing dessert.

Content & with full bellies,  so ended another excellent lunch at the wonderful Bistro Moncur!

Squeak