Bacco Wine Bar, Chifley Plaza

When you’re a foodie or a food blogger, your priorities become warped. The moment a friend suggests that we meet up on a Friday after work, my mind immediately jumps to consider where we should go eat, because a get together is simply not complete without food! Occasionally this ends in tragedy (or more as it is more commonly known, ‘Chinatown’), I like to term event this as a ‘Friday Fail’. In an attempt to avoid another Friday Fail I suggest that we go to Bacco, which has been on my mind ever since my recent Hunter Valley trip.

Bacco is situated on the ground floor of Chifley Plaza, during the day the restaurant operates as a Pasticceria serving breakfast, cakes and coffee. Sadly the cake service ends at five and the premises transform into a Wine Bar and restaurant. Arriving past 6pm without a reservation our relatively large group is seated with no problems. The restaurant is snugly located just behind a set of escalators and the seating space inside is actually quite small, we are seated just outside the restaurant next to an impressive looking glass wine storage area.

The pre-requisite bread shot

I’m a butter gal at heart and infinitely prefer a slab of butter over a serving of oil, but the bread does its job at sating our stomachs while we wait for our mains to come out. With 5 of us seated at the table we make the decision to share our entrees and mains to get a taste of as much as we can.

Mini Sandwiches

Curiously we are also served a second serving of bread in the form of mini sandwiches, I find the serving size perfect as an amuse bouche and each serving is gone within 2-3 bites. Strangely enough this mini-appetizer arrives at our table no less than three times throughout the night, once randomly in the middle of our meal and again just as we’ve asked for the bill.

Cocktail Assortment

We start off the meal in style with cocktails! The males in this group are obviously not afraid to embrace their feminine side as the pink concoction (far left) & fruity explosion (far right) are both ordered by the guys. By consensus Howard’s fruity explosion is the favourite of the four with a great citrus flavour that melds well with its alcoholic base.

Polpette Speziate - meatballs pan roasted in onions, garlic, chili and red wine; served in tomato salsa ($13)

As one of our party is decidedly anti-seafood our choices become a little limited on the menu. For our entree we decide on the safer option of meatballs and I’m pleased at the kick of chili that accompanies the salsa and crunchy bread.

Fettuccine Al Cervo - Fettuccine tossed in slow braised venison ragu, finished with marjoram and parmesan cheese ($22)

Being at an Italian restaurant it seems somehow wrong to not order a Pasta dish, our decision is made for us the moment we read the words ‘slow braised venison ragu’. It’s mentioned on the menu that all the Pasta is hand made in the restaurant, however the pasta is let down by the strangely tasteless meat that really doesn’t do much for the dish.

Anatra Due Cotture - slow-roasted, deboned duck leg rolled in prosciutto, served with roast duck breast, celeriac puree, sauteed asparagus and honey sauce ($32)

The duck meat is cooked perfectly, slightly rare and teamed well with the sweet honey sauce, and entire dish sits on silky smooth celeriac puree which puts all of my  mash potato attempts to shame. The prosciutto which wraps the ducks adds a needed kick of salt and in all I feel the dish is seasoned well.

Quaglia Ripiena Al Tartufo - Deboned whole quail filled with a truffle puree, served with warm balsamic salad, saffron potatoes and port jus ($19)

Perhaps ordering two game dishes was too much for one meal as the quail turns out to be a disappointment after the Duck, as in comparison I find the flavour of the quail curiously flat and much prefer the potatoes serving as the base, wonderfully crisp with a soft center. The truffle puree flavour is also a little lost and I’m unable to taste it at all in the dish.

Lombetto Di Tonno Agli Agrumi - Seared, citrus-crusted tuna loin with julienned zucchini, celery, carrots and vinegar sauce ($20)

The trend seems to continue through our mains and culminates in a very disappointing serving of tuna. One bite into the tuna shows that it tastes exactly like it looks, over cooked with a terrible texture that makes us suspect that the fish was frozen. I’m disappointed enough in the dish to leave it unfinished and feel that similar to the quail that it isn’t a terrible dish, it just isn’t a very good one.

Agnello In Crosta Di Pomodoro - Pasture fed, Riverina lamb rack with tomato crust, sauteed green beans and lamb jus ($29)

Slightly disheartened at this point the lamb dish is a turning point in the entire meal, feeling somewhat like a Masterchef moment with Julie and that damn lamb! If Julie’s lamb dish tasted anything like this lamb rack I can understand instantly why the Judges kept her in that round. Perfectly cooked meat that sliced cleanly off the bone, pairing wonderfully with the tomato crust, I couldn’t help but wish that I had ordered this dish all for myself.

Halfway through our meal a few last minute orders are added as a few more friends join our table. I’m rather mesmerised by the vivid pink colour of the Gnocchi but unfortunately don’t get a chance to taste these two dishes. A main criticism of both dishes is that sizes seem more appropriate as entree, but pricing is definitely in the mains region.

Gnocchi Di Rape Rosse - beetroot gnocchi with sauce made from calamari and white wine, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and broccolini tips ($23)

Risotto Con Scampi - Risotto in scampi bisque with scampi meat, red wine braised, julienned radicchio and terragon, garnished with whole steamed scampi ($24)

While I cannot fault the Bacco team on the presentation of the meal, the dishes themselves seem to have a 50/50 hit/miss rating. If I had simply had the duck, lamb and meatballs I would have walked out declaring it a homerun, as it was the Tuna dish must go down as I would have been happier to have never eaten. While service was attentive at the start of the night, as the restaurant became busier two requests for water were acknowledged and ultimately forgotten.

With all this said, Bacco has made their reputation on the strength of their pastries and at night is perhaps more suited as a Wine Bar, as per its name. While we were leaving many of the tables were filled with the Corporates who work in the nearby surroundings choosing to partake in wine and finger food rather that full meals. Despite my misgivings I’ll be heading back to Bacco in the future to check out their cakes and chocolates that made me so excited about the restaurant to begin with.

Bacco
Chifley Plaza
Shop 3, 2 Chifley Square
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Ph: (02) 9223 9552
Web: http://bacco.com.au/

5 Comments

1. Cookie

   September 12, 2009

   

   What a feast! I love the purple color of the gnocchi! I wish I lived in Sydney!
   .-= Cookie´s last blog ..Baking Cookies Again! =-.

   Reply
2. Simon Food Favourites

   September 12, 2009

   

   that’s a pity to hear about the 50/50 meal hits. i’ve always wondered what the food was like. i’ve enjoyed some of their cakes and the bar is good for a drink http://simonfoodfavourites.blogspot.com/2009/08/bacco-wine-bar-italian-cheese-chifley.html but i’ll have to remember this about the meals. it’s interesting to see a beetroot gnocchi.
   .-= Simon Food Favourites´s last blog ..Cafe Sopra: Italian Eatery at Fratelli Fresh, Waterloo (22 August 2009) =-.

   Reply
3. Hampers

   September 12, 2009

   

   Your blog is mouthwatering. It was nice going through your blog as it was quite tempting. Keep it up the good work.

   Reply
4. minh

   September 14, 2009

   

   Cookie: I loved the presentation oft he gnocchi! First time I’ve seen such a vivid colour.

   Simon: Yeh it was a shame about the mains, will definitely be checking out their pastries.

   Hampers: Thank you

   Reply
5. Yas

   September 16, 2009

   

   wow the gnocchi looks awesome!
   Hmm I don’t get to eat in the area much, I feel like I’ve been missing out great spots around there.
   .-= Yas´s last blog ..Malaysian & Dutch luncheon at Almost Bourdain =-.

   Reply

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