The Montpellier Public House

On those rare weekdays you have off from work, what do you choose to do with your time? Those precious daylight hours which you would otherwise spend commuting to work, doing work and trekking home from work. A sleep-in perhaps, followed by a lazy day lounging about home? Or a day of being out and about enjoying the sunshine?

The husband and I had one of these rare days to ourselves just before going on a recent holiday, which provided the perfect opportunity to try The Montpellier Public House’s $35 lunch special. Yes, really – three courses of food for only $35, available Mondays to Fridays from 12 til 3pm, at Matt Kemp’s revamped Balzac.

The menu changes seasonally and we find we’re spoilt for choice for first course “Small Plates”. Our selection of ‘Pork pie & piccalilli’ and ‘Pigeon & foie gras scotched egg’ arrive on the one serving board. The pie is served cold and is filled with a dense terrine-like mixture with a lightly-spiced piccalilli of corn and tiny cauliflower florets providing crunch and tang. The lone scotched egg is rich with foie gras and runny yolk and much more filling than its petite appearance might suggest.

Our second course “Large Plates” appear and we start to wonder how we’re going to fit in all this food! The fish and chips are served with beautifully buttery, mushy peas (because butter makes everything better!) and creamy, tangy tartare sauce which is perfect for dunking the thick-cut fluffy chips into. The batter on the fish is crispy, if a little heavy, but it’s the fish used which I’m not particularly fond of due to its oily texture.

The ‘8 hour braised shoulder of saltbush lamb, spring veg & barley’ is surprisingly light in comparison but very filling with its generous serve of meaty chunks.

Then there is still dessert! The Eton Mess is thick and creamy with plenty of vanilla seeds flecked throughout. I’m not a huge fan of cream so I wouldn’t have minded more strawberries and crushed meringue pieces. The ‘Profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce’ are equally as generous with vanilla in their filling and the runny chocolate sauce completes the crispy pastry affair.

And, recently The Montpellier Public House has announced an extra option to their prix fixe lunch where you can opt to have two courses for only $27.50. Perfect for those who have trouble fitting in three courses of food! So, what more reason do you need to go try it for yourself?

The Montpellier Public House

141 Belmore Rd (junction of Belmore Rd & Avoca St), Randwick NSW

Tel: (02) 9399 9660

Opening Hours (dining room):      Sun & Mon  CLOSED

                                                Tues-Sat  6pm until late

*EDIT*: As at May 2012, The Montpellier Public House is closed for business.

happy eating!