It's me, Eloise.

Witch

Black on Black
Hat: Dotti
Tee: Sportsgirl
Skirt: Neon Hearts
Bag: Nasty Gal
Boots: Shakuhachi
Necklace: Homemade
Sunglasses: Sportsgirl and homemade

I'm not usually about the black on black on black on black but today was just one of those days! I felt like I wanted to hide behind a bit of mystery so I compiled some of my best black attire! 

I have recently become such a huge fan of leather, especially in the form of a tee. My new Sportsgirl leather tee is possibly my new favourite item (I know I say that on a regular basis but I am forever changing my mind). I teamed it with my neon hearts asymmetric leather panelled skirt and my old faithful Shakuhachi leather cut out riding boots. Just to add that extra bit of rock star I added my black hat, which was an obvious choice! 

I had to spark it up a little so my DIY bow came out again as well as my DIY sunglasses. I am on a roll with arts and crafts at the moment! 

Last night JE and I dined at a new Italian haunt in Surry Hills ... Baccomatto Osteria (one of the many popping up lately). Baccomatto Osteria is attached to the Cambridge Hotel in Riley Street. It is the new baby of Mauro Marcucci of Melbourne's "Caffe e Cucina". 

It isn't your traditional pizza and and big pasta Italian joint with red and white checked table clothes at all! In fact, there isn't any pizza on the menu. Baccomatto Osteria has gone for the sophisticated, modern and sleek Osteria vibe. This is very much evident in the decor.

It is a wide open space beaming with mood lighting which is unmissable from the street. Massive windows open up onto Riley Street allowing the passers by to be intrigued by the full house of diners inside. The walls and tables are stark white. This also goes for the huge square bar in the middle of the room.

There are several blackboards around the space with food and drink specials sprawled in white chalk. There are two main rows of tables up both sides of the restaurant which are separated by the bar. There is also quite a lot of room to dine at the bar itself. The diner against the wall is seated on a medium brown vinyl couch which runs the entire side wall and the diners opposite are seated on dark wooden Bentwood chairs. 

I was first to arrive as JE had to park the car. Note to self NEVER, ever drive into Surry Hills on a Saturday night. The extremely friendly Italian waiter showed me to my table and gave me the food and beverage menus to look over. I ordered a glass of New Zealand Pinor Noir while I waited.

Pinot Noir from New Zealand $11

I had pretty much finished sipping on my wine and JE still hadn't arrived. Over an hour had passed and I was sure everyone around me and the waiters were feeling sorry for me and assumed I had been stood up! I guarantee the staff had bets on whether I would stay or go. They definitely did feel sorry for me as the next minute I had complimentary olives placed in front of me! Finally after one hour and fifteen minutes JE arrived in a bit of a fluster. 

Complementary Marinated Olives

Nevertheless, let's get down to the food. The menu is fantastic. The entrees are split up into marinated, fried, grilled, cured meats and cheeses with about half a dozen options of each. The mains are split into two sections pastas and other bigger dishes (only about four on offer). They always have a fish of the day and another entree special. Last night the fish of the day was grilled fish in a tomato and garlic sauce with king prawns, octopus and mussels. The entree special was grilled octopus. To accompany the mains was a small selection of side dishes. 

Marinated Button Mushrooms $5

Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan $8

Fried Whitebait $6

Grilled Calamari $12

JE and I started with the marinated button mushrooms, grilled calamari, fried whitebait and grilled asparagus. All four entrees were mouthwateringly delicious. The button mushrooms came with a side of chargrilled bread and were quite spicy but that is the way I like them. The whitebait had light, crispy batter (but not too much of it) and had a great crunch. The grilled calamari was definitely the stand out being a big portion of grilled, tender rings placed on a bed of rocket with fresh lemon. The chargrilled asparagus dressed with fresh lemon and shaved parmesan cheese on top were also extremely flavoursome. 

T Bone $30

JE ordered the 350g rib eye fillet, medium rare which was huge! It came out already sliced on the plate and away from the bone. The meat was tender, perfectly pink and extremely juicy. It literally melted in your mouth. I originally ordered the fish of the day without the mussels as I am highly allergic however, they forgot to not cook it with the mussels and as it was the last fish special I was not able to eat it.

King Prawns $16 and Grilled Octopus Special $7

Sauteed Vegetables $8

Our waiter was extremely sorry and apologised at least half a dozen times! As I don't eat pasta and the only other main option was a spatchcock I opted for another entree serving of calamari and two king prawns. No problem except they had run out of calamari! Third time lucky I was able to order the entree special of grilled octopus with garlic and the king prawns. This was all I needed for a main anyway as we had a side of sautéed vegetables. The large octopus tentacle was very flavoursome and chunky. I have never had octopus cooked like that so it was great! The king prawns came on skewers and were therefore easy to dehead. The prawns were large and very creamy.

Whilst eating my main I received at least two more apologies from our very sweet waiter. Although the sautéed vegetables were lovely and very well garnished with garlic and chilli I had different vegetables in mind when I ordered the dish. The dish simply compiled of sautéed bak choy/spinach which gave it more of an Asian feel rather than Italian.

Overall, once we finally sorted out our parking debacle we had an extremely pleasant meal. I do wish I had been able to try the fish special as it looked delicious as it passed me by but I guess that gives me an excuse to visit Baccomatto Osteria again sooner rather than later! 

Baccomatto Osteria 

212 Riley Street

Surry Hills NSW 2010

Overall: 8.5/10

Ambiance: 8/10

Food: 8.5/10

Drink: 8/10