WyNo Wine Bar & Shop

Co-owners Ben Milgate, Elvis Abrahanowicz and Joe Valore have taken on the mantle of this laneway-like room, retaining the focus on wine but upping the ante on snacks, adding a Spanish flair.

The long, low bar here is calling you in on a cold night, while the dimly-lit shelves filled with vinous rarities showcase the shop side of things at this small sister eatery to neighbouring Porteño.

The day’s menu is always supplemented with specials, so let them regale you with these before you get stuck into the monumental wine list. Solid house-baked focaccia leads the short, tight menu with plenty of sliced meats, seafood and inventive vegetable dishes to share, like tiny, roasted ruby red beetroots, hidden under a cloud of horseradish crème and bright purple shiso. Hawkesbury school prawns come dusted in flour then flash-fried before being seasoned with Old Bay and served with a punchy aioli, while earthy mushroom dumplings blend East and West with their chewy yum cha-style pastry.

PSST! They take their wine seriously here, so don’t be afraid to try something unusual and ask for a taste.

Reviewed for the 2019 Guide