The historic Queen Victoria Building is now home to the CBD’s second Bacco Wine Bar and Pasticceria. Bacco is the familiar Italian name for Bacchus – fun loving god of food, wine and fertility. In other words this is the haven for every indulgent Italian treat imaginable.

Like its sister venue in Chiffley Plaza Bacco at QVB offers a dizzying range of Italian pasticci and dolci made in-house by Bacco pastry chef extraordinaire, Brendan Dewar. Get stuck into the cannoli, a Sicilian sweet ricotta-filled pastry with an elusively crispy exterior – by which we mean elusive if not cooked by an authentic expert.

If you’re not in possession of any kind of sweet tooth then sink your savoury one into the generous selection of anitpasti e spuntini (bar snacks) or formaggio and salumi (cheeses and cured meats). A stand out is the unpronounceable ‘nduja – a spreadable, spicy little mound of porky goodness served with wood fired sourdough.

Of course your little trip to Italy wouldn’t be complete without a wee aperitivo cocktail. Bacco’s list is as brief as a pair of Bonds, but the six creatively authentic cocktails on offer are delicious and showcase famous Italian liquors like Campari and Aperol. Give the Italiano Sour a whirl – a mix of the orange and rhubarb-based Aperol shaken with the artichoke-inspired Cynar, lemon juice and citrus syrup.

It’s no surprise that the wine list has a strong Italian focus and it’s fairly extensive with 17 on offer by the glass – and more than 40 by the bottle. We went for a glass of the fleshy 2005 Villa Antinori Toscana Sangiovese. Delicious and reasonably priced. But then again if you want to show off to your friends the ‘89 Gaja Barbaresco Nebbiolo at $620 should have them suitably impressed.

 

Notes –

Where: Level 2 QVB Building, 455 George Street

Opening hours: Breakfast, lunch and dinner from 8.00am, 7 days a week