Sophisticated, convivial and very, very good: any night at this part bar, part wine store, part bistro promises to end as joyfully as it begins.
The fun of finding this swanky wine bar sets the tone for the kind of experience that awaits. Enter via a narrow alley off Rokeby Road; navigate the industrial stairwell and enter another realm. Amber floorboards and illuminated red bricks suggest the warmth of a cosy den, while a peaked skylight that’s as long as the bar signals that sharp design is also part of the DNA. A wine store slots in like the best kind of walk-in wardrobe, with thousands of bottles rising up the wall. In keeping, the wine list is extensive – this is the brainchild of prodigious winemaker Larry Cherubino, after all – yet starting with a rich, barrel-aged negroni poured over logo-branded ice is de rigeur. Unflappable bar staff share descriptive verbal cocktail tastings, and even know that Cherubino’s Gingin Chardonnay refers to a grape variety clone. The nibble-weighted menu roams from Italian olives so salty-sweet they justify the food miles, to butter-tender lamb cutlets, and blowtorched scallops coasting on a pizza-like capsicum, kalamata and pine nut medley. But don’t stop there. The lightly decadent duck tortellini on fennel puree will see a finger run around the plate; team it with lardo tossed sugar snap peas with blistered skins.
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