Cuisine Undercover - Sotano Wine and Tapas - 3 stars

Cuisine Undercover - Sotano Wine and Tapas - 3 stars

Mostly, I forget that I’m old. But when I walked into Sotano and caught sight of the bar staff, my first thought was “Oh my! They look so young!” And when you’re using expressions like “Oh my!”, I guess it’s only a matter of time before you’re playing gin rummy and talking through your gums.

Youth alone however, has never been a crime. Unsophisticated service however, really gets my goat.

After consulting the wine list, I opted for a 2008 Lillydale Estate Chardonnay. My request at the bar however was met with a blank stare, some casual, unhurried consulting with other members of the bar and then the indifferent news that this month, they were serving the Lucinda Estate Reserve.

I knew the replacement drop was a goody so I didn’t dwell on it.

My friend was drinking (or so she thought) a Hawkes Bay Merlot. When requesting a refill – another look of confusion – as it turns out the entire wine list was last month’s. All of which I may have been able to stomach – had it not been for the fact that no-one had pointed this out first time around – they’d just given her a different merlot.  Maybe her fault for drinking merlot – but still!

When asking if there was a new wine list I could see – well let me just tell you – if I doubted my age before, the young girl’s look left me in no doubt whatsoever that I was not only old, but I was a bother. Hmph. And there was no new list available.

I mean for a wine bar, on a Friday night, at a venue like The Hilton – just not acceptable.

Thankfully however, the wines themselves were very good, and when the food stepped in, the evening picked up considerably.

Sotano’s has modelled itself on an authentic Catalan tapas bar, “with a touch of Australian flair”. You can choose your own selection of cheeses, cured meats or tapas, but the “wooden boards” are recommended and for good reason.

We went with the Siesta Board, which for $48 contained a bit of everything – a firm-to-bite and smoky Jamon Serrano, some delightfully spicy and thinly-shaved Istrian salami and some amazing tapas.

The duck rillette was a stand-out, particularly with the aid of the quince paste to cut through the richness. The meat balls, slightly pink inside with a gamey flavour, worked surprisingly well with the rich cuttlefish sauce, and the picked green chillies helped balance out the plate.

The little tiny patatas, partly hollowed out with a filling of paprika-y, spicy, tomato sauce and a dollop of aioli, were divine.

I had to be convinced to try the bread and butter pudding for dessert – apparently a specialty. And now I’d like to convince you. Expecting something thick and stodgy – this pudding defied all logic – light, soft and cinnamony. It felt more like a gourmet cinnamon doughnut than the bread and butter puddings of old, and the vanilla bean ice-cream was excellent. My only complaint was that I could have done with slightly bigger servings!

Sotano’s fit-out is fantastic – big, roomy, yet with intimate spaces and a fabulous suspended cellar “hanging” from the ceiling. I’d go again, but I’d like to think the service will step up to appropriately match the venue before too much damage to its reputation is done.

PS. Not you Sarah, you were ok.

Join Our Facebook Group