Vinothek – Darlinghurst
Update: Vinothek has sadly closed down.
I’ve never started a review before by talking about the menus but at Vinothek, a wine bar and restaurant near the corner of Crown and Oxford Street, they arguably provide the most interesting angles.
On one hand you have the wine list, which is several pages long and filled with an impressive array of German and Austrian wines that you don’t normally see in Sydney, as well as a variety of Bavarian beers.
On the other hand you have the food menu, which has dishes such as the Presssack mit Bratkartoffeln (a homemade galantine of meats in aspic) and veal meatballs served rare. There are also more (relatively) conventional meals such as a German-style anti pasto plate and beef cheeks in red wine sauce but, being in need of comfort food, I order the chocolate and walnut crepes instead.
The waitress is friendly and knows her wines, discussing several options that would match my crepes before offering a taste of three of them. I end up opting for a glass of the Fuchs Auslese Mosel Riesling from 2003, which is fantastic – fragrant, slightly sweet and with a complex flavour that makes it the best Riesling I’ve had in a long time.
The décor is attractive, with candle-lit tables and dim lighting, and one of the walls is made of books that are used as tiles. I begin to wonder why this place isn’t busier than it is, as only a few tables are full here even though it’s a Thursday night.
My crepes arrive, laced with a veil of melted chocolate, and are good – by the end I wish I had more.
I suspect that, like me, Sydneysiders may not be as willing to be as adventurous with food as they are with wine, and that maybe if Vinothek looked more like a wine bar than a restaurant – which is how it appears, especially from the street – it might be busier. Having said that, I’ll definitely be coming back, if only for another glass of the Fuchs Riesling.
Now it’s your turn – how do you rate this bar?
[ratings]
Vinothek, 241 Crown Street, Darlinghurst. Open Mondays to Thursdays from 4pm until midnight and on Fridays and weekends from 11am until midnight. A separate function area is available. Phone 9331 4311 or see the Vinothek website
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