Billy's at Balmoral
Editorial
The first thing that hits you is the buttery smell of freshly baked pastries. Fat golden pain au chocolat pastries are responsible for the sugary scent filling Billy's at Balmoral. Rows of the golden rolls with flaky edges and oozing chocolate ends rest by the window to cool, along with gingerbread men and fat rhubarb muffins. Billy's looks like your aunty from the country has moved her dining room to Balmoral and started selling her baked treats. Wooden mix-and-match tables, timber floorboards, bookcases housing eclectic novels and shelves lined with knick-knacks give the restaurant a familiar and homely feeling. Your cousins are here too, welcoming regulars by their first names, laughing together and serving coffee. Whilst the lunch crowd make Billy's feel like a friendly family restaurant, the staff bring a quirky and energetic edge.
The restaurant has all the nooks and crannies of a home. Al fresco breakfasts enjoy a sea breeze while the front room fills with the sweet fragrances of the kitchen. The sun room of white walls and shelved books invites long afternoon teas whilst upstairs, the dining room framed in exposed brick walls has an ocean view.
Today we sit by the brown leather banquets of the front room and eye-off the next table's roasted duck spiced with caraway seeds in speck and duck jus, served with savoy cabbage. Our fried salt and pepper baby octopus is a little too oily but has soft, bouncy texture. The lamb shank has been slowly braised and flanks a mound of olive gnocchi with confit cherry tomatoes and red wine jus. Char-grilled quail is presented atop farro perlato with dark skinned grapes and prosciutto salad. Sweet nothings finish lunch with fresh strawberries accompanied by Belgian chocolate sauce.
Billy's has a super casual atmosphere and embodies all the personality that some of the other restaurants in the area lack.
Edwina Storie, November 2010
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