Le Bon Ton - the latest new fave

Le Bon Ton - I'm calling it - it's the latest new fave!

Having a Texan family, I had high hopes (and standards) going into Le Bon Ton. On the outside it looks like a standard Collingwood pub that you find down the weaving side streets - the kind that looks slightly shabby but all the locals flock to as their local watering hole. But inside Le Bon Ton, it's like a sudden transportation to the American South with a saloon feel and an outrageously gorgeous beer garden (fairly lights get me every time).

The food was exceptional. To eat, I shared the vegetarian chilli fries ($15), the buttermilk biscuits with chipotle and honey butter ($8.50) and the kitchen sink salad with southern fried chicken ($21.50).

The chilli fries and the buttermilk biscuits were an excellent choice. The buttermilk biscuits were warm, soft, fluffy and the chipotle and honey butter just exploded in the mouth. They weren't quite like the biscuits I've had before down south (which I always thought were basically scones!), reminding me more of cornbread. Either way, they were damn delicious and a dish I would recommend.

The kitchen sink salad with southern fried chicken was another excellent choice. I feel guilty calling it a salad (which usually has connotations of healthiness) as this salad was piled high with corn chips, ranch dressing and deep fried chicken - but boy did it taste good. It wasn't overly creamy (which I often find can be the case with creamy salad dressings) and the chicken was surprisingly moist on the inside and crisp on the outside.

For a place that has its kitchen open until 6am on weekends, I wasn't expecting a great deal. But this new fave is definitely somewhere I will be heading to again (and hopefully soon!)


Verdict: The New Fave