By Franz Scheurer
Emmilou is a tiny restaurant, an oasis of peace, hidden at the Taylor Square end of Bourke Street, in an area that borders on the chaotic. There is a veranda / lounge at the entrance (which is shielded from the weather with a pull-down plastic awning), opening to a long and narrow restaurant, with a bar area in the centre and a cosy, quite private seating area with a sofa, a comfortable armchair and a rocking chair (I love the rocking chair!). It’s cute, quaint and very back-street Barcelona, both in décor and ambience.
They specialise in cocktails and have a good beer list and an amazing wine list. Chris Cranswick-Smith, owner and chef, keeps a keen eye on everything and Kelsey Moore behind the bar knows her cocktails and the selection goes from the expected to the superlative. We started the night with an Ambar 1900, a terrific, slightly sweet beer from Zaragoza in Spain, an ‘El Tommy Blanco’, (Tommy’s margarita with Trago silver, white grapefruit and a stick of rosemary), ‘7th and Sazerac’ (Havana 7, chocolate bitters, vanilla sugar and a Fernet Branca rinse) and a beautifully fresh (January 2009) La Goya Manzanilla.
We moved to our table, banquette on one side and translucent plastic chairs on the other and although I was rather dubious about their comfort, I was thoroughly at ease all night long.
Emmilou is a place for Pinchos y Picas and Tapas. The best way to eat is to order heaps of dishes and share them. We ordered ‘Ostras’ (Sydney rock oysters with Bloody Mary and tomato, Tabasco Jelly), ‘Pan Pinchos’ (Tomato toasts with garlic chips), ‘Bacalao’ (Salted cod, roast tomato sauce and sourdough wafers), ‘Ceviche’ (Marinated scallops, burnt capsicum and pine nut salsa, crispy calamari) and ‘Higado De Pato’ (Duck liver parfait, fried beetroot and sourdough) from the Pinches y Picas menu. Every single dish was superb with the ‘Bacalao’ the hero. Although not the traditional, reconstituted, salted and dried fish mash, it was very thinly shaved, house-cured Blue Eye, and it was salty and wonderful in its simplicity.
We continued with ‘Pescado Frito’ (Crisp whiting fillets with pumpkin aioli), ‘Chorizo Asado’ (Spicy house-made sausage, mussels and octopus), ‘Salmón Confitado Negro’ (Blackened, slow cooked salmon fillets, spiced beetroot, fried bread and oyster cream) and finally ‘Polenta Blanca’ (Seared white polenta, wild mushroom foam and Parmesan crisps). The whiting was outstanding and the polenta incredibly moreish. The salmon was probably the only dish that lacked punch and salt, but everything else made up for it. A bottle of Domaine de Pibarnon Bandol Blanc from Provence was the perfect partner.
Desserts didn’t let the savoury dishes down and although full as a ‘fat girl’s sock’ we managed somehow to eat the ‘Crema Catalana’, (served with muscatels and brown bread ice cream), ‘Canutillos Rellenos’
(Stuffed cigars with toffee apple foam and burnt orange), a daily special of ‘Spiced Ginger Bread with Turkish Coffee Ice Cream, Strawberry Jam and Walnuts’ and an absolutely stunning ‘Vote For Pedro’, a dessert cocktail made with Pedro Ximénez sherry, dark cacao and Turkish coffee ice cream.
Service was professional, friendly and informed and Assistant Manager Amelie Andre, from France, who served us, certainly knew her stuff and is a great asset to the place.
It took me a long time to visit Emmilou, as it is hard to eat in all the places of interest, but it turned out to be fantastic. Emmilou is tops and you should try it.
Score: 7.5/10
For more information and bookings:
Emmilou
413 Bourke Street
Surry Hills
Tel.: 02 9360 6991