Gertrude Street Enoteca

Gertrude Street Enoteca

Clem Bastow, Reviewer

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Elegant without being snooty and casual without forsaking its sense of style, the Enoteca is chameleon-like in its ability to shine at any time.

The term "wine bar" has come under fire in previous BarFly missives. It is an odious term that describes places where people in pastel linens drink watery chardonnay to Eric Clapton's MTV Unplugged. However, Melbourne is fortunate in that if you look beyond the "wine bars" you will find some very fine establishments where such wishy-washy tipples are but a faintly recalled waking nightmare. To wit, Gertrude Street Enoteca. And yes, I'm sure I've called a few places "stunning" or "fabulous" in my effusive past but Gertrude Street Enoteca has something else possibly because it positions itself at a crossroads between a bar, a restaurant, a deli and some well-connected friend's beautiful kitchen. Whatever it is, it's doing it so, so well that wondering just how to describe it is to completely miss the point. Elegant without being snooty and casual without forsaking its sense of style, the Enoteca is chameleon-like in its ability to shine at any time.

Full review on The Age