Bar Monti — Restaurant in Merimbula

Bar Monte – Merimbula ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bar Monte just hits different.

We ducked in for dinner and it honestly felt like being looked after by family. The lamb ragu was a proper serve hearty and full of flavour, like something Mum would’ve made if she’d spent a week in Rome. Real comfort food.

We kicked things off with salt and pepper squid (shared), which was crispy, tasty, and gone in about 60 seconds. Also gave the tempura battered zucchini flowers a crack light, crunchy, and bang on delicious.

My partner had the spaghetti puttanesca and wouldn’t give me more than one bite (which says enough, really). Tangy, rich, and cooked just right.

Now, the tiramisu oh mate… I’ve eaten a lot of them over the years, and this one’s right up there with the best. Perfect texture, just the right kick of coffee and cream chef’s kiss

If you’re just chasing a seat at the bar and a decent chat, this place has you sorted too. Billy’s probably the best barman this side of Sydney. He honoured us with one of the smoothest Negronis I’ve ever had so good we couldn’t pass up a second. Friendly, switched on, and makes you feel like a local, even if you're not.

All round top feed, top people, and a cracking little spot. I’ll be...

Came here while on hols. Was so close to being a 5 star experience but a few things let us down.

Firstly the service is a bit cold - the blonde gal taking our order seemed so unhappy. Didn’t smile and barely looked us in the eyes. We felt like we were trying to make her happy - so awkward. The guy behind the bar was a gem. So nice and warm when he brought us our drinks and apps.

The food - the apps were AMAZING. We had the zucchini flowers, arancini balls and calamari. All outstanding. Before we got our mains (lamb ragu & mushroom/speck fettuccini), we were told they’d ran out of rigatoni (??? not sure how you run out of pasta when you’re an Italian restaurant.. read some other reviews and it seems like they run out of ingredients quite a bit ??). The waitress asked if they could use spaghetti, we requested fettuccine… it came out with spaghetti (??). Also didn’t have a lot of lamb. Seemed like they were spreading ingredients thin. The mushroom and speck pasta was pretty good!

For dessert we got the limoncello cheesecake which was DIVINE. So good - glad we were able to finish the meal on a high note.

We’ll be back when we’re in the area - definitely worth going to. Hope this...

This is one of my all-time favourite restaurants! Every time I visit Merimbula, without fail I visit Bar Monti. I am never let down. The choice of traditional Italian food is fabulous, and every dish is delicious! We started with a Limoncello Sour cocktail which was the best I have ever tasted - could not stop at one! Then we ordered the Arancini balls, Calamari Fritti, the Pumpkin Rotolo, and the Morton Bay Bug spaghetti. And for the kids, they had a pizza. OMG, every dish was delicious (as usual)! This was next level Italian food and if you haven't tried it, you are missing out. Oh, and almost got to mention the desserts (how could that be forgotten)! We had the Tiramisu, the Baked Limoncello cheesecake and the Chocolate mousse to share - pure decadence and totally delicious. More please!! The staff were attentive, pleasant and efficient, the atmosphere very authentic (just love the outdoor eating area), and the food delicious! And very kid friendly as well. Loved it! We shall...