Villager — Restaurant in Mount Buller

When researching Mt Buller I had read about this place which serves French food which I'm a fan of. It has a prime location within the village. Enter in through two sets of doors and upstairs to the restaurant and bar.

There's lots of skiers in early for a drink or two. The kitchen opens at 5pm and after a light lunch I was ready to go. I ordered at the counter and chose the following:

Normandy Style French Onion Soup Served with Gruyere croute Delicious soup, crunchy baguette with melted Gruyere, perfect dish for the weather.

Coq au Vin Red wine chicken, shallot, lardons, mushroom, herbs Excellent dish, lovely soft tender chicken with a subtle red wine flavour, love the herbed crumb, tender mushrooms, excellent dish in a cosy warm setting.

Downstairs is The Little Villager which is noticeable from Bourke St as you walk back to the village after a day of skiing. Serving coffee, pies, pastries and quiches, this is an excellent place for something casual. There's also a water station to the right of the counter.

I'd got a bacon and egg quiche and a vegetable pastie. Both were warmed, delicious flaky pastry, nice filling, enjoyed with tomato sauce and they're open each day. I visited again to grab some eats for the ride back to Melbourne. Two delicious bacon and quiches were thoroughly enjoyed. These are quality products.

Glad that @TheVillagerMB is open, I enjoyed a delicious meal on my visit last year.

Cured Spencer Gulf Kingfish Carpaccio Kombu cured kingfish, bonito cream, green apple, salted cucumber, watercress, applewood smoke Was after something light and fresh and this was superb. There were bits which had that real umami flavour. Love the flavours, touch of creaminess, burst of freshness from the salted cucumber, slight fruitiness from the apple, pop from the wasabi roe, and a textual contrast from the cracker.

Collac Provenance Suffolk Lamb Shank Pomme’s puree, Du Puy lentil sauce, green olive + tomato Oh the aroma coming off this dish, such a winter warmer for snow filled slopes. The lamb shank is huge with a very generous chunk of lamb that falls off the bone, slow cooked and delicious enhanced with the flavoursome sauce. The pomme puree is light, smooth, and creamy and perfectly compliments the lamb. I could just keep eating this. There's also tender lentils to add more body and it has soaked up the lamb juices which makes them tasty. Very filling and satisfying dish. Excellent dining experience, delicious flavoursome food, lovely venue and ambience, excellent friendly service.

At The Little Villager their delicious pies are back - lamb, beef, and Thai chicken curry which are all delicious. Also a new addition is 8 smaller pieces of fried chicken coated in Korean spices which...

I'm not sure where to start with this review as i never really give a negative however on this day i felt we were intruding on the workers personal issues. as we were in a group of 12 including kids one of us did a walk around to find somewhere that could accommodated us wit all the covid rules. after our scout asked if she had space she came back to get us, however upon arrive it was a very odd situation where i believe she had her 2 friends there, I'm not sure if they were there before, so then i became a question of who was leaving and who was staying, with small kids this felt very awkward. after some back and forth one of the girls left. we sat down, ordered our drink and waited, while waiting all we could hear was the worker complaining about her phone being stolen, it seemed this was bothering her a lot as she was talking to her friend at the table about it and with anyone who came in that she knew.while i understand it may have been distressing to have your phone stolen, i dont think its a time and place to be so emotionally vocal about it. all in all having to sit there listening to the workers personal life while trying to enjoy our cuppas was very uncomfortable and i think we felt like we had wreaked her day by coming in...

I generally LOvE this restaurant. Most dishes generally match its mountain price and brings heartiness after a day of skiing. The ambience is really nice. This year, I tried their most expensive dish, ($55) on the menu and was really looking forward to their signature - Alpine Cassoulet Riz pilaf, rouille. Unfortunately, the dish was at most - a simplified casserole, and fell far from its French traditions of a complex, long tendered meaty rich, warm bean hearty casserole, as it’s price would suggest. It was instead, a little bean spill with a small celebration of a tiny tasty confit Chicken drumstick, a piece of pork sausage and unfortunately undercooked hard bitey rice pilaf. Could do with a revision of price to reflect a simple casserole and perhaps better served with a crusty top and sourdough bread.. Still a good restaurant despite a one...