Bistro Moncur

9327 9713, Woollahra Hotel, 116 Queen St, Woollahra. NSW 2025 www.woollahrahotel.com.au
Open Tue-Sun noon-3pm Mon-Sat 6pm-10.30pm Sun 6pm-9pm, Closed Monday lunch; Licensed; AE DC MC V EFT, Seats inside 108, Outside seats, private room, Kids welcomed
Chef: Damien Pignolet (21-9-11) Owner: Damien Pignolet & The White Family (18-9-10)

Mietta's Review
Bistro Moncur defies change, since 1993 this place has been the benchmark for bistro style in Sydney. The menu features the classics of French bistro cuisine in a smart but no nonsense atmosphere. The no bookings policy remains and tables keep turning over. The service is pleasant, efficient and the wine list has some excellent choices. There are some memorable dishes with perfect flavours and consistently good regular favourites, such as the Sirloin Cafe de Paris, Bistro Moncur pork sausages and mash potato, French onion souffle. Can be noisy - highly recommended.

Other Published Opinions

Sydney Morning Herald Food Food Guide 2012 Score: 15/20

Gourmet Traveller 2012 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: One Star "Constancy is a wonderful thing. Bistro Moncur's many loyalists brave its long-held no-bookings policy not for surprises but for the assurance that Damien Pignolet's oversight of the kitchen brings"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2011 Score: 15/20, One Hat ""

Gourmet Traveller 2011 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Constancy can be a winning asset and no one does it better than the team at Bistro Moncur, now under Tom Walton. The striking Michael Fitzjames mural sets the scene for glam bag-toting urbanites out for smart, fast French fare"

The Australian John Lethlean, 10-04-2010 Score: 2/5 "Plenty of bucks, not much bang"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2010

Gourmet Traveller 2010 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Bistro Moncur is quite simply Australian bistro dining at its best and a bona fide Sydney institution. What has kept this gem on the radar is its relaxed/posh vibe and some of the friendliest and most efficient waiters who could ever grace your table - that and, without a doubt, master Pignolet's faultless food"

Sydney Eats 2009 "One of Sydney's best-loved bistros is now in its 15th year and it's not messing with the formula"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 15/20

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Consistent cooking is a terrific formula for turbulent economic times. No one does it better than bistro maestro Pignolet and his team who have the 'wish-I-were-in-Paris' night out down pat"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 16/20

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "This Woollahra lady has had a subtle nip and tuck, highlighting her best features. The comfortably familiar atmosphere and signature mural remain but the addition of a barrelled ceiling of slatted timber gives the room a modern edge"

Sydney Eats 2008 "It speaks volumes for the quality of Sydney food that its top seeand-be-seen joint also serves some of the finest bistro food in town"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 16/20

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Ah, Moncur. Some baulk at the idea of a bistro charging these sorts of prices. What they perhaps don't recognise is that for the money, you get total consistency, and it's these guys who set the standards."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2006 score 16/20

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide ** "There are few better ways to spend an afternoon than pondering Damien Pignolet's smart bistro menu from a breezy perspective above Woollahra. The consistency ofthe cuisine and service draws a mixed patronage, from well-heeled locals returning from their neighbourhood providore, to ordinary blokes seeking a great steak."

Sydney Eats 2006 "The original upmarket pub bistro and still one of the best, this stylish space echoes with the happy sounds of the posh, the poseurs and the flushest of the Paddington push as they chow down, cheek by jowl"

SBS Eating Guide to Sydney 2005 "The concept is Parisian bistro and the chef is Damien Pignolet, one of our best-known Aussie-French chefs. He's been doing the modern French thing in Sydney for many years now, and achieves it with style."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2005 Score 16/20

Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide 2005 ** Good Vegetarian Options "It would be easy to dismiss Bistro Moncur as a magnet for the superannuated see-and-beseen scene. Easy, that is, were it not for the fact that the food here is undeniably excellent, its consistency second only to that of the restaurant's service. Simplicity inspired by French provincial dining is the order of the day."

Sydney Eats 2005 "The original upmarket pub bistro and still one of the best, this stylish space echoes with the happy sounds of the posh, the poseurs and the flushest of the Paddington push as they chow down"

Sydney Morning Herald, good living, 3/2/04, Matthew Evans, Score 16/20

Daily Telgraph NSW Restaurant Guide 2004, Best Restaurant in a Pub Hotel, A slick buzzy atmosphere in this popular French-style bistro in leafy Woollahra with Damien Pignolet's French-influenced menu.

Sydney Morning Herald GFG 2004, Score 16/20

Gourmet Traveller Guide 2004- two black stars for casual dining, excellent wine list- details updated- country's priciest bistro, very loud when room is full, food is very good value for money, service is rough, the sirloin with cafe de paris butter is a signature dish.