This casual neighbourhood spot delivers a serious, European-focused wine list alongside polished cooking, all overseen by a young, knowledgeable team that knows what’s up.
In 2010, a tiny bar came along that forever changed the way Sydney drinks wine. That bar was Love, Tilly Devine – a former bottle-shop storeroom in a hard-to-find Darlinghurst laneway. Opened by quick-smart ex-Quay sommelier Matt Swieboda, it offered fuss-free snacks and an extensive, off-beat collection of low-intervention wines from around the world. The sort of place, in other words, you’d expect to find while wandering the backstreets of Paris or inner-city Melbourne.
The years that followed saw Australia’s natural-wine scene boom, with new local producers, fresh imports and small bars celebrating them cropping up left, right and centre. By 2017, a follow-up only seemed logical for Matt and his team, so follow up they did with Dear Sainte Éloise, a small laneway space not far away in Potts Point, with a few more seats, a somewhat larger menu and a far more Eurocentric wine list.
The premise, however, remained much the same: a casual neighbourhood spot with a serious cellar and polished cooking, manned by knowledgeable youngsters who know what’s up. Hardly ever in this world does a sequel live up to the original, but here is a case of one doing just that – and maybe even surpassing it.
Be warned: plans to call in here for a quick glass of wine often result in at least another, and perhaps a few more after that. That’s because this is pretty much everything you want and imagine a wine bar to be – grown-up, sexy and moody, lit by low, warm bulbs and flickering candles, with bentwood chairs, high and low stools, a handsome copper bar and squeezy corner tables. Seating overflows into Llankelly Place, which makes for especially colourful people-watching in the early evening.
The food proves just as hard to resist. What may begin as an innocent half-dozen freshly shucked oysters with yuzu dressing, or a couple of creamy Taleggio cheese croquettes, can quickly turn into a bowl of pici noodles tossed through pea and pistachio sauce or a skilfully grilled steak glazed in harissa and black vinegar. And with a wine list that runs upwards of 400 labels to play with, you’ll never be short of pairing possibilities. The bottom line? It all just clicks.
