This wine bar is brought to you by Gio and Enrico Paradiso, the brothers behind Potts Point’s favourite Italian, Fratelli Paradiso and Paddington’s 10 William St. Built in a former EzyMart and renovated to resemble a European wine bar down to the mirrored sconces, blackboard menu and stained glass signage, you’ll find a modest snack menu that’s designed mainly as a support act for the wine.
Start with a round of light, puffy gougeres and a glass of juicy pinot gris. Settle in with a plat du jour (perhaps white bean dip, braised bitter greens, pickled mushrooms and hunks of fresh mozzarella) and a side of fresh-baked bread and they might pour you a slender, slightly oily Jean Bouteille arneis. You could easily linger at the table with star Victorian sommelier Andy Ainsworth’s very own Vini Merenda, lovingly described as “an afternoon wine”, or an icy negroni with no food at all.
Though that might mean missing meatballs on a bed of polenta, and the deep-fried clams. It’s already quite a scene here – it’s a full house by 6.30pm on a Friday. Need a plan B? Piccolo Bar is right next door, ready to welcome you with cocktails and hotdogs.
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Myffy Rigby is the former editor of the Good Food Guide.
