Review: Giallo Wine Bar

Giallo Wine Bar
39a Rundle St.
Kent Town SA 5067
(08) 8362 9006
Tues - Fri for lunch & Tues - Sat for dinner
http://www.giallowinebar.com.au/


Sunken and tucked away on the Kent Town end of Rundle Street is Giallo Wine Bar. Giallo is small and dimly lit and this, I think, creates its appeal. In what appears to be a stylish attempt on saving space, half the chairs on the tables are stools. The tables are also small so you are quite close to those on your table - great for a first date, wink wink! Although I conveniently missed out on the stool seat I have to say, that in all its tightly fit closeness it somehow works, and (with no back pain) I found the smallness of Giallo to in fact be perfect. Obviously being small and filled with people means noise, but again it was loud to the point where it created a great atmosphere. The staff were also friendly and casual. First impressions were up there.

The menu is full of really inviting dishes with a contemporary Italian feel. On first look I realised I had found myself in the dilemma of what to pick with so many tempting options presented. The menu is set up so that you can easily share the dishes or you can go at it solo. With our group of four we decided to share starters and go our own mains. Most of the 'Starters' are around the $12 mark, a choice of two 'Carpaccio's' for about $22, 'First Plate' meals $18-$20, and the 'Second Plate' meals ranged from low to high $30's. There were also standard 'Sides' of roast potatoes, salads etc $9 - $14

First out of the blocks was the 'Marinated octopus with green olive tepande', the tepande was amazing and even if you are not a big olive fan, I'm sure you would be pleased. The octopus was generous in size and mostly tender. A good start. We also had the 'Oven baked feta' and this was nothing short of sensational, it was warm, creamy and just delicious. A note of warning though, eating this dish on your own would probably leave you feeling pretty guilty that you consumed a big slab of cheese, but it is so worth getting this dish to share. I'll be trying to recreate this at home very soon.

Now I absolutely love a carpaccio and we had a choice of beef or salmon and went for the 'Beef fillet carpaccio'. To my disappointment I found the carpaccio to be unseasoned and it generally lacked flavour. It came with mushrooms and a truffle pecorino, both of which were a bit dull in flavour. What it really needed was more salt, more chilli and more oil. On a positive note it also came with some rocket which helped to balance it out and add freshness.....it just needed the flavour. We also had some 'spiced roasted almonds' which were nice enough.



Kingfish

For my main I had the special of 'Kingfish on peperonata with potato rouille'. Every element was nice when eaten altogether and it was a generous and thick sized piece of kingfish. On its own I did find the flavour of the kingfish to be stronger than when I have previously eaten it and unfortunately the skin was not crispy which I found to be most disappointing. Not only would the crispy skin have gone nicely with the potato rouille but it would have also added a bit of texture to the dish as a whole. The peperonata, made from yellow and red capsicums, was full of flavour and lovely and soft. The potato rouille (if you're wondering is a thick creamy mayonnaise type of sauce) was also nice and complemented the fish well. 



I also tried the 'Chicken cooked in spanish style spices'. Apparently the sauce had chocolate in the base which was meant to bring out the flavours of the spices and have a very subtle chocolate hint. The flavour was indeed beautiful and I'd consider going this dish on the next visit but I certainly couldn't taste any chocolate, which, in a savoury dish, is a good thing if you ask me.

  

I also tried the 'Angus beef fillet with porcini butter' and this was cooked perfectly and was overall a good dish.



Chicken cooked in spanish spices


Being a little full of food and wine we went for the shared 'Cheese platter' for dessert. You can choose from between one to three cheeses and we went for two ($14) and they were really nice. Of particular note was a 'St Angel Brie' from France and it was amazing. Aggghhhhhh! (It's now on my produce list as a favourite cheese). 

There is a great wine list, as you'd expect from a wine bar, and the waiters are more than helpful and experienced in assisting you choose. There was also a couple of good champagne's and the 'Louis Bouillot blanc de blanc' at $9 a glass/$45 a bottle was a winner. You certainly cant go wrong for that price for an exceptionally good Frenchie. I'd 'pop' into Giallo just for a glass of this one.

From a Saturday night visit I think Giallo doesn't quite seem to have found its niche as far as clientele go. This appears to work in its favour and at this stage has stopped it from becoming pretentious as is often the case with places that have, well, style.

I loved, loved, loved Giallo Wine Bar. The food was great except for a few minor adjustments, but above all the ambiance of the place is sensational and I'll most certainly return, and hopefully soon.


The Eatery by CK