Mille Vini Wine Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Sydney

Mille Vini is an excellent food and wine bar in Surry Hills, complete with l excellent service and a vibrant ambience. We started with a cocktail and a favourite go to is an old fashioned and this one was a levelled up old fashioned, a mighty fine one which is not that easy to find. Their version uses Woodford Reserve Rye, which is mixed perfectly with brown sugar, bitters, cherry served with a large ice cube and an orange peel, we really enjoy sipping on this cocktail. We also sampled the “ginger my limoncello” made with limoncello, ginger, elderflower, lemon, egg whites and yuzu bitters. This was another well made cocktail with a good mix of sweet and tartness complementing each other. All of the food was sublime, perfect for sharing or to order for yourself. The Crostini stracciatella can be ordered by the piece (eggplant, prosciutto or anchovy). It is a crisp piece of bread topped with the creamy cheese and choice of the above toppings. It is a great starter with tasty mixture of ingredients and textures. The Zucchini flower was another starter for the senses with its crisp batter and melted truffle peccorino, all combining nicely with the honey blossom bringing all of the flavours together. From the entrees we selected the the fish tartare and the beef carpaccio, both very enjoyable. The fish tartare was a pretty dish with an array of colours from the cucumber, finger lime and salmon roe, a nice fresh dish. The carpaccio was also fresh and light, the beef so delicate it melted in your mouth, classically paired with horse radish, the parmigiano reggiano adding some extra bite and the funghetti pickled mushrooms were a nice point of difference and provided contrast.

The mains we consumed were two fresh pasta dishes, as well as the Al Vino, a braised meat, on this occasion a generous portion of oyster blade, which was nice and tender and nicely sauced and topped with a kohlrabi gremolata, a hearty dish that was very enjoyable and appreciated on the cold night we visited. The pasta dishes were both served as a generous portion, both rustic and soul warming. The casarecce, a short twisted pasta scattered with tiger prawn pieces and nduja was delicious, the spicy spreadable pork sausage providing a good kick of flavour. The other pasta dish was a fresh made Ravioli, which we love. There is something about this type of pasta, perhaps it's the anticipation of tasting what's inside the parcel. On this occasion, it was filled with a creamy taleggio cheese and wild mushrooms, again nicely sauced with a medley of wild mushrooms, sage and truffle oil, a great combination of flavours creating a well balanced dish.

The go to dessert when eating Italian is the Tiramisu, which translates to cheer me up or pick me up and this dessert certainly did just that. The white chocolate tiramisu with amaro, was surprisingly light, the cream was stunning and the toasted macadamia on top provided crunchy texture and a slight bitterness. Always a great way to finish a meal. You can also pair your wine with a digestif or dessert cocktail. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Mille Vini, a perfect dining experience made all that much better with impeccable service The food arrived at a good pace with the waitstaff explaining details of the food and drink. We enjoyed the attentive service, with the tables being wiped and cleared often, as well as plates being replaced and the water glass constantly filled. Ando, who was heading up the team was also very charismatic, he had a fun, warm and welcoming personality and enhanced our dining experience. We dined A la carte, however they also have apertivo hour and a banquet menu available. We enjoyed all aspects of our visit, the decor, ambiance, food, drink and service and can wholeheartedly...

Had the Valentine’s Day menu.

SAN VALENTINO Set Menu $135PP

passionfruit cocktail (not included in set menu) - cannot recommend. Tasted exactly like Kirks Pasito homemade rosemary & maldon flake focaccia ✨ - would’ve liked this toasted but bf liked it. cucumber gazpacho - an experimental one for me. Supposed to eat first which I think would’ve sat better but all our entrees came at the same time and we weren’t reminded of which order to eat them in. There was blue spanner crab, rock melon, and melon leaf inside the cold soup shot. It grew on me but I would not want to try again. black truffle arancini ⭐️ - yummy ball of white truffle emulsion and fried rice. Would’ve loved it to be even crunchier. kangaroo tartare ⭐️ - i really like raw foods so liked this. Kangaroo tartare tastes similar to beef but more lean and chewy. paccheri alla crema di zucchini ⭐️ - WOW! Soooo delicious. I NEED this on their ongoing menu pleaseee I’m on my knees. Pancetta was quite hard but the texture and sauce of this pasta was exquisite. Also had wild garlic butter, stracciatella, sun-dried tomato and granulated lemon zest on it. 2GR heritage wagyu rump cap MBS 9+ ✨ - got this rare but this might’ve been nicer cooked more instead. Bf liked it but I was struggling to chew the raw bits and was spitting out the sinnews so not on my list of best steaks. fennel salad - This salad was a concoction of the most controversial leafs (fennel, dill, arugula). While I don’t mind these leafs, they are controversial for a reason and I don’t believe they vibe in a salad together. millefoglie ✨ - Refreshing and light calamansi, diplomat cream, and lemon balm cream. Flavour was nice but I personally didn’t like it with puff pastry. Might be my own bias thinking millefoglie is more of a vanilla or chocolate dessert.

✨ worth trying for yourself ⭐️ recommended by me

Overall: Lovely staff and vibey jazz music usually on Wednesday’s. We were at an awkward bar seat next to the stairs which wasn’t the most comfortable but we ended up having fun people watching. I would love to come back to have the paccheri again or try their other pastas. The other dishes just didn’t quite hit the mark for me but the atmosphere was romantic. :)

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Worst bottomless in Sydney. I booked this place for my birthday and was really excited to try someplace new as I’ve been to a number of bottomless brunches prior. Saying this was a letdown is an understatement. The staff was completely rude, made me feel like they were annoyed we were there the second we walked in. I couldn’t even sit down or finish saying hi to my friends before I was barked at by a staff member asking me to confirm how many people were coming. They started the lunch when only 4 out of the 20 guest arrived even though the booking says we hold your reservation for 15 min. I arrived 5 min late but people did not fully arrive until roughly 15 min after my intended booking. They also cut you off completely 15 before it ends. Drinks were slow and kept getting taken away even though I wasn’t even halfway finished drinking it. The best part was the staff member who came 15 before our time ended and fully started waving an eftpos machine in random people’s faces mid meal yelling, “who is paying, I’m only splitting this two ways I don’t have time for you guys to do individual payments”. Honestly wish that part was an exaggeration, but it sadly wasn’t. Absolutely appalling behaviour for any established business. The only reason I gave 2 and not 1 star is because the food is delicious, albeit tiny and not filling. Never left a bottomless hungry and sober in my life. Save your time and money and go somewhere else....