Tastevin Bistro and Wine Bar

LOCATION
Five minutes’ drive from the city, close to Kings Cross train station.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
Through its endearingly European entrance and up an easy flight of stairs, Tastevin Bistro and Wine Bar sits prettily overlooking the frenzy of Victoria Street below. While the dining room, complete with lounge area and bar towards the rear, is a respite from city life, the hype over Alex and Natasha Bourdon’s creation indicates the passion and hard work that has brought this project to fruition. The space effuses a distinctly French feel, with restrained opulence, lush wallpaper and stone flooring.

A small but compact menu invites you to take a stroll through the streets of Paris, with entrees such as rabbit and rosemary terrine with white onion puree and cornichons, and moules farcies – black mussels with parsley and garlic butter. Follow perhaps with the pan-roasted duck breast with crispy polenta, and cassis and raspberry sauce, or opt for the stock-standard yet reliably delicious grain-fed scotch fillet with bordelaise sauce, spec and pommes noisette. Desserts, too, wink towards France with creme caramel de maman, and apple tart with honey almond nougat ice-cream. All that deliciously rich munching will require a suitably superb drop so meander through the carefully chosen wine list for an Aussie beauty or a Burgundy stunner.

Annabel Wise