By Marie-Antoinette Issa.
There’s something magical about Sunday morning in a French village. The cobblestones are still damp from the night before, sunlight catches the sheen of cherries piled high in wooden crates and the air hums with the scent of warm baguettes and fresh herbs. Now, transplant that scene to Woollahra and you’ve got the spirit of Sunday Marché at Bistro Moncur.
Back for another season, the beloved French-inspired market experience transforms this Sydney institution into a pocket of provincial charm. This isn’t a pastiche or postcard version of France. Under the careful eye of Head Chef Tom Deadman and Restaurant Manager Simon Tebbs, Sunday Marché celebrates the real thing - the rhythm, spontaneity and unpretentious joy of food straight from the market, cooked with respect and served with ease.
Each Sunday through Summer, the Bistro’s Market Specials menu becomes a living, breathing reflection of the season. Prices change with the markets and the dishes are dictated by what’s fresh that week - a little like how a French cook might decide their menu after a stroll through the village square.
One Sunday, it might be Kinross lamb, seared until just blushing and dressed with rosemary butter. The next, a glimmering pile of local mussels or lobster, or a simple market fish from the team at GetFish, served with a lick of sauce and a crisp pour of white wine.
Tom’s food walks a fine line between French technique and Australian ease. Vegetables from Newcastle Greens are charred and caramelised, showing off their natural sweetness. Premium meat gets a smoky kiss from the grill. The result is a menu that feels both elevated and effortless – as if someone took the best parts of a long lunch in Provence and gave them a Sydney accent.
There’s something wonderfully human about the way it all unfolds. The specials are written by hand, not printed in stone. Plates arrive when they’re ready, wine flows as conversations stretch out and nobody seems in a hurry to leave. It’s the kind of place where regulars greet the staff by name, families lean in over shared fries and you can almost forget you’re a short stroll from Queen Street rather than the French Riviera.
Tom calls it "modern food with respect for the past,” but it’s also food that feels connected – to farmers, to seasons, to the moment. It’s the kind of dining experience that reminds you how good ingredients don’t need embellishment, just attention.
Sydney does plenty of polished dining rooms, but Sunday Marché at Bistro Moncur feels refreshingly alive. It’s less about ceremony and more about soul. The courtyard glows golden by late afternoon, glasses catch the light and a soft hum of conversation fills the air. By the time the last oysters have been slurped and the rosé bottle runs dry, the whole scene feels like a love letter to both France and the simple pleasure of Sundays done well.
Just one word of advice: come early. Like any true market, once the best of the day is gone, it’s gone.
