SA Weekend restaurant review: Fino Vino on Flinders St, Adelaide
Grounded and unpretentious, Fino Vino is the very definition of comfort food, making it the perfect spot for all occasions. Our food reviewer awards it high marks.
SA Weekend
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I can see the question coming from a mile away. A new acquaintance has just discovered what I do for a crust. “Wow,” they say. “That’s my dream job.” Then … “What’s the best/your favourite place to eat?”
And my irritating, non-committal answer: “Depends what I am doing.”
If I want a low-key but still-special anniversary dinner, that will be so-and-so.
For catching up with a bunch of potentially exuberant mates, that will be different. And a quick bite before a show? Somewhere else again.
Except that I have done all three of those things in the past month or so at the same place. And if you asked me where I’d like to head for a meal next week, it would still be a serious consideration.
This review, then, is a love letter of sorts to Fino Vino, the people who run it, and all that they stand for. For while other establishments offer more thrilling culinary fireworks, a swanker setting, more drama, a bigger party, they aren’t where I’d choose to share a table with people I care about.
The Fino story, of course, goes back more than 15 years to the little cottage in Willunga where chef David Swain and front-of-house dynamo Sharon Romeo first made magic together.
In 2014, they shifted to the Barossa, as part of the redevelopment of historic Seppeltsfield, establishing a restaurant with far more space and a different clientele. Then, two years ago, they added Fino Vino, bottling the spirit of the original and bringing it to the heart of the city. At least that is how it feels now.
While the fit-out, by studio-gram, isn’t a copy, the exposed brickwork and mix of booths, banquettes and standard tables gives it the same lived-in feeling. The beautiful still-life paintings by Bridget Ohlsson are still the only decoration.
Romeo has had time to build and counsel a service team that is the equal of any in town. Her DNA is ingrained in their easy, adult manner, the way they can read the mood at each table, the quiet delight they show whenever someone asks to delve deeper into the brilliant list of drinks. In the kitchen, a brief dalliance with a new chef and direction is long over, and the calm assurance of Swain is evident on the plate again.
This is Fino food. Grounded, intelligent, understated – a bit like the bloke himself. And the terms seasonal and fresh really do mean something here.
Some combinations, say zucchini, ricotta and pistachios, can look dead simple. Dig deeper, however, and you find the vegie ribbons are grilled until squidgy and charred. The ricotta has been made in-house and is fragrant with fresh dill and mint. Together, they make the perfect couple.
A lucky dip of oyster mushrooms and their buttery juices come with walnuts, mizuna leaves and a final dusting of salted egg yolk, the closest this food gets to trend-conscious.
Fillets of tommy ruff somehow have lustrous just-set flesh beneath the skin that looks as if it has been to the gates of hell, their smokiness echoed softly in a bed of eggplant pulp. If you had the grill on your boat, it couldn’t taste fresher.
The Italian masterpiece veal saltimbocca is rendered perfectly, with a sage leaf beneath as well as on top of the seamless prosciutto wrapper, the quality of the meat inside outstanding. The same goes for slices of flatiron steak that bathe in an anchovy butter sauce.
Whether following a tasting menu or a DIY selection, the quantities and pacing of the meal are attuned to the diner, not to suit the service. Want a half-serve of baby spuds? Easy.
And when it comes time for dessert the arm-twisting is as sweet as the honey drizzled over a grilled peach and fig leaf ice cream.
Fino Vino is like an old friend or that pair of well-worn jeans you’d pull on every day if you could. Comfortable. Beyond the whims of fashion. A perfect fit no matter the occasion.
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