Review: Tastevin Bistro and Wine Bar, Darlinghurst

So the order set out from AL was "I don't care, I just want French. Maybe we could hit up that place that gave us the awesome mash?"

The "awesome mash" place she had been referring to was Sel et Poivre in Darlinghurst, and despite constantly craving the mashed potatoes and the beef cheeks served there, I simply didn't feel like it was due for another visit until Winter strikes again.


Meanwhile I directed her attention to Tastevin, a French slash Modern Australian restaurant hidden in a pool of chaos that is Kings Cross.


In true Parisienne fashion, the place here is sleek and stylish. You most definitely won't be finding any nonsense in decor or furniture here. Likewise, its selection on offer is similarity straight-forward and no-nonsense, with just a few selections on offer, more than enough choice for the petite group of three we had that evening.

Beautifully soft and freshly baked bread was made immediately available after everyone arrived, and served with a soft round of butter and a dish of the balsamic & oil duo.

Gnocchi à la Parisienne, sauteed mushrooms & white truffle mornay - $16/27

We selected an entree to share, which was the Gnocchi à la Parisenne, with sauteed mushrooms and white truffle mornay. The mornay was delightfully rich and creamy in texture, and the fact we had shared it among three left us all wanting more. The gnocchi were the gentlest pillow-buds encased with slices of mushroom in every spoonful. The dish was simply divine.

King Fish tartare with sorrel cream, flying fish roe & finger lime dressing - $17

VH ordered a King Fish Tartare in an entree size for her main. The sorrel cream was indeed delicate in flavour - much like the king fish, but was simply too rich to finish. The flying fish roe drizzled around the edge of the plate made the entire dish seemed rather like a piece of artwork, and the thought crossed my mind as to whether it was polite to run a spoon around and lick it off.

Luckily for VH, AL and I were practically family.

Duck two way with spaetzle, sugar plums & sage beurre noisette - $29

AL selected duck two way with sugar plums and spaetzle (missing?). Thinly sliced duck piled up on top of a bed of what seemed like a duck pattie. While the slices were moist and juicy, the pattie below seemed rather uninspired and uninteresting. AL prodded it a few times and thought it was really dry, and left it mostly untouched.

Crisped skin pork belly on celeriac remoulade & pickled grapes - $17/28

I chose the Crisped Skin Pork Belly as my main. The layers of pork belly meat were lusciously tender and moist, and wonderfully balanced by the tartness of the pickled grapes. The celeriac remoulade was beautiful also, and I happily scraped up every last morsel along with the meat. Sadly I was disappointed by the chewiness of what was meant to be crispy skin, and after tackling one slice, I could not bring myself to put in all the effort to tackle the second.


Tastevin Bistro & Wine Bar
Level 1, 292-294 Victoria St
Darlinghurst, NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9356 3429
Website: http://www.tastevin.com.au/