The Age recently ran a story about the rise of the gourmet sandwich and one of the places which was omitted from the article was Le Cellier.
This cosy nook is an outpost of the slice-of-Paris restaurant next door, Madame Sousou. It shares the same provincial French outlook – cane chairs, gleaming copper features and Edith Piaf warbling in the background, while specialising in easy lunch food – sandwiches, salads, pies and little pastries.
For $13.50 you can sample their takeaway lunch box, a little French bento box if you will. It comes with your choice of one of the pre-made sandwiches, salads and a friand or canale to finish. The day I visited I couldn’t go past the chicken waldorf salad sandwich, a lovely creamy filling with the pop of walnuts nestled along a properly chewy French baguette. My choices of shredded carrot salad and de Puy lentil salad were fresh and vibrant in colour and flavour. Finally, the daily friand was lemon financier piped with a neat stripe of tangy lemon curd, just a couple of mouthfuls of sweetness to round out my meal.
My lunch was simple, tasty and delightfully packaged. Bon appetit indeed.
Thanks for the post, this sounds like a great little place. I must pop by one day!
As someone who grew up in France and pines for proper French bread, my interest is piqued by your use of the words “proper chewy baguette”. Why do you think it should be chewy? Is this a common idea in Australia? Is the reason why baguettes in Melbourne (outside of Vietnamese bakeries) are so dreadfully chewy and rubbery? A chewy crust is a sign of stale bread for me. I’ve never had a single decent piece of French bread in Melbourne, although the Vietnamese come close (they have the crisp crust but the flavour is very bland, like French supermarket bread).
Sorry for the rant, it’s just something that really intrigues me! I’m going on a long trip back to France soon anyway so I’ll be eating all the bread I want
Looks delicious. I will be marking this one for my next trip to Melbourne.
PS Congratulations on your new addition!
I’ve never been to France. Happy to get a glimpse through this resto!