Chic French cafe meets elegant wine bar at Mistelle in Double Bay
MISTELLE, a breezy, chic wine bar-slash-restaurant in Double Bay, is what you might call “bang on trend”.
MISTELLE, a breezy, chic wine bar-slash-restaurant in Double Bay, is what you might call “bang on trend”.
Gone is the stitched-up formal dining business. Ditto the beards and tattoos and heavy, tired, slow-cooked meats.
Just an elegant little 100-seater that pays culinary homage to a classic French cafe, overseen by a female restaurateur and nestled right in the chic back pocket of Double Bay’s new Kiaora Lands development.
I know what you’re thinking: Double Bay — sigh — an area not exactly renowned for its depth of soul.
But Alicia Wadsworth, a second-generation hospitality kid from a pub background, is hoping to change all that, one glass of muscadet at a time.
“Growing up in the eastern suburbs I felt like there was something missing that was a little bit more adult where people can go a couple of times a week,” says Wadsworth, whose father Peter first opened the London Hotel in Paddington 35 years ago. “Somewhere casual where you can come in for a glass of wine and have a snack or something a bit more substantial if you like.”
Speaking of wine, what Wadsworth can’t tell you about French drops probably isn’t worth knowing.
She’s a member of the Commanderie du Bordeaux, which represents Bordeaux wines, and a graduate of the Gastronomicom Wine School in the Languedoc region, in the south of France. In other words, très safe hands.
In the kitchen, Frederick Booms (ex L’Etoile) has constructed a sophisticated menu full of fresh local produce and sustainable seafood, as well as an impressive charcuterie.
We start off in appropriate fashion with boquerones — white anchovies from Spain ($20) served in the tin with a pad of Pepe Saya butter, a crisp wedge of lemon and
the right amount of thin, crusty toast.
Then a 30g tin of Imperial black caviar served with accoutrements of finely chopped shallots, cornichons, capers and grated egg. A decadent choice for $95
but folks around these parts spill that at lunch. So, when in the east!
We devour the scallops wrapped in prosciutto ($22) served swimming in a pool of raspberry jus and spinach puree. And, as it should be, the ham is perfectly crispy and salty and the scallops juicy fat and sweet.
Dish of the night is the double-cooked gruyere souffle ($27), topped with a glob of fresh blue swimmer crab meat, a fleck of caviar and served bathing in a heady crab bisque.
A juicy lamb rump ($28), cooked in a sous vide with thyme and rosemary and served with a smattering of quinoa and confit tomato, is also fantastic.
The blue-eyed cod ($30) — served with fresh tomato, fennel, chilli and a tangy olive salsa — comes in three small portions, which takes away some juiciness. But it’s a
minor criticism.
Dessert, a classic French orange cake served on hefty dollop of lemon curd ($15), is updated with wedges of freeze-dried mandarin and a creamy lime and coconut jelly and makes for a perfectly light finale. Well, almost the finale.
We end with a glass of the restaurant’s namesake. Mistelle, a type of French wine made from unfermented grape juice and mixed with a spirit.
It’s traditionally better as an aperitif but we throw caution to the wind because, surrounded by gracious staff, sophisticated decor and the afterglow that comes with great food, it’s been that kind of night. Paris meets New York in Double Bay, of all places. Magnifique!
All meals are paid for and visits unannounced
MISTELLE
Rating: 8/10
Address: 16 Kiaora Lane, Double Bay.
Phone: (02) 9326 1900
Style French bistro
Open 11am to midnight, Tuesday to Sunday.
Highlight The twice-baked crab and Gruyere souffle.
Lowlight The tables are a little cramped for a restaurant that advises share plates.
Like this, then try these
● The Wine Library, Woollahra.
● Bambini Wine Room, CBD.
● Missy French, Potts Point.
‘Beyond a fire sale’: Criniti’s stores sold for staggering price
Despite its whopping $19 million debt, the remaining Criniti’s stores, including Parramatta and Darling Harbour, have sold for a staggeringly low price in what one broker has described as ‘beyond a fire sale’.
‘I like big buns’: Wacky burgers with a difference
Parramatta’s very own Eat Street is as exciting and diverse as the city itself. Take BL Burgers for example, which brought its premium burgers — including the Blame Canada, Blame Indian and Mac Daddy burgers — to western Sydney.