IL BÀCARO – Cucina e Bar

Restaurant Review by Franz Scheurer

There is a lot to be said for consistency and IL BÀCARO will never let you down. A Melbourne dining institution this tiny Italian restaurant clawed its way to amassing a devoted clientele with its wonderful, honest, and consistently excellent food, attentive and very professional service and an endearing hospitality that might even be hard to find amongst many Italians, a people known to be hospitable.

The tiny restaurant’s layout and fit-out reminds me of a number of small, upmarket establishments in Venice and specifically the Trattoria al Gatto Nero on Burano, one of the islands in the Venice Lagoon. It shows off a large, horse-shoe shaped bar in the centre, stocked with lots of wines, spirits and liqueurs and the bar also doubles as a serving area for the tables, arranged on three sides around it. The front and right hand side are bright and cheery, with lots of windows and the left hand side is darker, with wood panelling giving the tables a much more private feel. The restaurant is decked out with monochrome paintings depicting mountain peaks and absolutely everything in the place breathes quality and dependability. You can just drop in for a drink at the bar or eat at the bar or at one of the tables.

I wanted to start my meal with a sbagliato (a Negroni where the gin is substituted with Prosecco) and they mix a mean one! A carpaccio of wild barramundi and salmon presents beautifully and matches the remnants of my Petrognola organic faro beer perfectly. The wine list is superb (they really know how to put together a good wine list in Melbourne) and the selection of wines by the glass is outstanding. I try the Argiolis Vermentino from Sardinia and having been there a couple of month ago I can vouch for its taste integrity. For mains I can’t pass up the goat and the Capretto Brasato with roast potatoes is an absolute treat and probably the best goat I have ever eaten. I’m also impressed to see that we really are dealing with a baby goat and not a ‘goatasaurus rex’. A liquorice panna cotta with honeycomb and citrus powder completes what I would call a perfect meal and the alpine herb grappa helps to digest. You would expect the espresso in a restaurant of this calibre to be good and I was not let down.

Value for money is excellent and the timing of the dishes was perfect. This place fills up fast and I suggest you book to make sure you get a table. It’s interesting that I have been going back to di Stasio’s for decades whenever I am in Melbourne, but in future, my first stop will be IL BÀCARO.

Noise: 76 db

Best: wonderfully Italian without the quirkiness

Worst: the fact that I could not come back to eat more of their dishes

Would I go back: You bet!

Score: 8.5/10

For more information and bookings:

IL BÀCARO

168-170 Little Collins Street

Melbourne 3000

T 03 9654 6778 (for reservations)

E info@ilbacaro.com.au