Love Tilly Devine
Bar Review by Franz Scheurer
This rustic wine bar might be a tad hard to find the first time you go there but never fear you will always find your way back there and I reckon you will go back. Spread over two levels with the toilets on the third, this is a funky and functional space. If you want to be seen and be part of the ‘happening crowd’ find a place downstairs, near the entrance and the serving bar. Upstairs it’s a bit cosier and a lot quieter. Beautiful, large overhead lamps give the room a soft glow and although quite cramped the space seems a lot bigger than it actually is.
My first (and last) whinge is the size of the font of the wine-list. If you have such a wonderfully eclectic selection of wines from all over the world then they deserve to be show off to all and sundry (not just 18 year olds with 20/20 vision!). Please take into account age and light levels when you print a wine list.
To set the tone of the place, I’d like to quote from the above list: “Without being pretentious about it, we want this to be a bar where people come
to drink well rather than to just get drunk – a place to take a good friend, or a prospective lover. It is also a place to come to enjoy wine. We think wine should express the grapes from which it was made and the place where those grapes were grown. That means it should taste like fruit and herbs and flowers and minerals – not oak or alcohol. Even more important is that it must have balance. The wine list currently sits at just under 300 different wines from many of the world’s great regions – everywhere from the Yarra Valley to the Jura to Wachau. Perhaps that’s excessive for a 40-seat bar, but we don’t think so. Lastly, the name. It’s a fairly direct reference to the former East Sydney heavyweight – brothel Madame and militia boss extraordinaire – Tilly Devine. Not that we necessarily advocate what she used to do. Instead, the name is more of a nod to the past and a salute to the neighbourhood that we call home”.
You could easily loose yourself in the wine list for eons; it’s simply superb. I love the fact that they have a decent selection by the glass and although it’s a wine bar they do have a couple of boutique beers and ciders on the list. The list is also grouped into tastes and textures, e.g. one heading might be ‘Fresh, Vital, Energetic’ where as another might be ‘Fragrant, Textured, Harmonious’. This wine list reveals some real gems if you have the time and energy to go through it. I love the fact that they even serve a Chardonnay from the Jura, a 2005 Puffeney, Arbois.
The wines are superb, that’s a given, and the wine service is knowledgeable, friendly and swift; but this is not where it ends. A great selection of bar snacks rounds off the experience and chef knows what he’s doing. The food is elegant, easy to eat and really quite superb. I love the place and I suggest you check it out!
Noise: Downstairs 89 db, upstairs 78 db
Would I go again: without hesitation
Best value: a glass of Muscadet
Score: 6.5/10
For more information:
Love Tilly Devine
91 Crown Lane (directly behind Best Cellars in Crown Street)
Darlinghurst
