Omerta, Darlinghurst
Living in the heart of Darlinghurst is dangerous. It’s a tough life full of unexpected twists and turns. One minute you’re walking down Victoria Street with your old friend looking for a quiet place to chat and maybe grab a coffee. The next you’re sitting at a table with crisp white linen, a full glass of red and a sizeable bill mounting as the words “yes we’ll order sides with that” leave our lips.
With lethal places like Omerta on our ruthless streets it’s hard to a) stay thin and b) pay your rent. Having been lured in by older brother A Tavola across the road before I should have known Omerta would be dangerously irresistible.
Omerta has been widely commended for its small plates and sharing dishes but on this occasion my friend Knoxville and I opt for mains and salad to share.
Our waiter is friendly yet formal and very knowledgable, explaining the menu and suggesting wines. It’s 6.30pm on a Sunday and we’re the only ones in the restaurant. He brings us some bread and oil to start. Sadly I am disappointed. It has a claggy texture and sticks to the roof of my mouth. I feel slightly apprehensive about the rest of the food.
When our mains arrive all concerns are swiftly set aside as a beautiful duck leg and breast, figs, radicchio, vin cotto (38) is placed in front of me. Knoxville’s Filetto di pesce con bottarga e patate (36) looks just a delicious as does our salad of radicchio, fennel, orange, avocado salad (14). The duck is delicious, tender and cooked perfectly in beautiful juices.
We manage to come away from this evening with a reasonable bill though I imagine having ordered entrees and deserts plus wine it would have been a different story.
Omerta is an impressive space with a sleek interior, marble bar with wrought iron finishes. The perfect place for an “I’m trying to impress you without seeming like I’m impressing you” dinner date. It’s more on the pricey side for just a casual Sunday night catch up but perfect for a few nibbles and glass or two of wine.
More people are sitting down as we are leaving and as we leave the restaurant it doesn’t take long to decide upon desert. We walk two doors down to Gelato Messina, the obvious choice, just another dangerous Darlinghurst gem.
235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst, Sydney 2010, Phone: 02 9360 1011
Category: Restaurants
My husband and I love Omerta – the food; the service; the wine – everything is amazing.
Very unpretentious just very good – perfect date night:-)
Glad you like it. You’ll have to check out A Tavola across the road also if you haven’t already. Very delicious and cosy!
xxMsD