Terrines, brawn, pate, rillettes I adore them all! I think Matthew Kemp does too. He is the man behind the transformation of the fine dining establishment, Balzac, into The Montpellier Public House. Unfortunately I didn’t make it to Balzac before it closed, but I’d always heard great thing about the place.
I’ve been eyeing off The Montpellier for months and months. It was finally time to go! They have a restaurant upstairs but I was happy to stay in the more relaxed downstairs area for lunch.
The set lunch menu is ever changing and today’s offerings sounded like it would hit the spot.
Pressed pork wrapped in more ham, fat and all, is excactly the sort of food I like to eat. I was so inspired by the country terrine that I went home and dragged out some books to try and make my own. That hasn’t happened yet but I have not forgotten. I’m just working out which one to make first.
The staff are attentive and great at advising those of us whose eyes are usually bigger than their stomachs. Heeding that I chose the pan fried sea mullet for main, instead of the roast I was thinking sounded good. Skin was crispy, salad was balanced, bread had soaked up all the flavours, ticked all the boxes.
A simple dessert of raspberry ripple and elderflower ice cream served with shortbread. I’m not a great lover of heavy deserts and this was perfect for me. The ice cream was so rich and creamy, thank goodness I didn’t have access to the rest of the stash.
The Montpellier is one of those places you can easily see yourself returning to again and again. Randwick folk, consider yourselves very lucky to have this place on your doorstep.
Vintage Macaroon 
OMG – that ice cream flavour sounds like a dream…!
I know doesn’t it!
That terrine looks stunning! Im such a sucker for terrines haha
It was perfect, I savoured every bite.
The terrine does look really nice. Would you go back again?
Definitely!
I really love a nice ice cream after a meal. A nice ending, especially with the shortbreads.