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There's a reason that Albert’s Wine Bar has earned its reputation with locals as the spot to hang out. Just as the ideal neighbourhood wine bar should, it serves as the perfect place for a plethora of purposes: a leisurely lunch on a Saturday afternoon; an afterwork drink; a midweek catch-up over a quick but excellent meal. Bring your mates or your mum, bring a colleague or a first date, bring your pup to potter around the patio or even just a good book. Albert’s is achieving everything you expect from your local wine bar, plus a little more.
There's a warm and cosy feeling of subtle sentimentality that accompanies the moreish snacks and stylish drinks at Albert’s. Perhaps it's due to the light pattering of rain outside on the evening we visit, contrasted with the glowy warmth and convivial conversation inside. Or it might be owing to the feeling of palpable history pervading the place. That history itself is memorialised in this winner-of-a-wine-bar’s name: Albert’s Wine Bar is named for the famed Australian artist Albert Tucker, who presided nearby, and chose this wine bar’s home, a 19th century building tucked behind a heritage listed arcade, as the subject for one of his 1937 landscape paintings.
Spanning a tight but welcoming intimate bar space, larger sitting room and European-style alfresco area, Albert’s Wine Bar is putting on a show of elegance and subtlety. Behind the bar hang imposing brown velvet curtains that create a sense of theatre and magic by keeping the back of house operations out of sight, allowing waiters in crisp white shirts to emerge from the drapery, laden with platters of oysters and charcuterie, as if out of thin air.
What was once a light snack menu has evolved to offer the makings of a rather excellent and full-scale meal. The double-edged sword of a seasonally changing menu is that while there is likely something new and exciting to try with each visit, you’ll also dread the disappearance of a previously loved dish. If, for example, the whipped ricotta with honey, anchovies and guindillas is not available when we return, tears could very likely be shed. We could lather that sweet ricotta on just about anything. In this instance, it's on fluffy, fresh bread from Phillipa’s up the road, which is primed for all sorts of slathering: whether it be with said ricotta, the cultured butter it's served with or the silky stracciatella with chive oil and charred padron peppers (those pesky peppers prove to be a game of Russian Roulette to snag the sneakily spicy one hidden amongst the innocuous others).
A lone bartender diligently shakes cocktails throughout the evening; his signature concoctions are mostly citrus-centric, fruity and herbaceous. Flavours of lemon and elderflower, lime, orange and fresh passionfruit underscore the menu. A knowledgeable, friendly and engaging waiter – the way we would describe all the staff at Albert’s – informs us that the special cocktail we order, the Harvest Moon, is named after the Neil Young song. And somehow the summery flavours of Pimms, lemon, prosecco and strawberry gin taste just as romantic and nostalgic as the song sounds. The East 8 Hold Up, recommended as the most popular cocktail, proves to be a peppy potion of vodka, Aperol, elderflower, pineapple and lime.
If you’re not in a rush, we recommend ordering your food in small batches (as it does tend to arrive quite quickly), pausing in between to pour over the weighty wine list. Albert’s widely sourced list is in fact so accomplished that it was awarded ‘three glasses’ by the Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards in 2024. This remarkable achievement reflects the enormous efforts taken to produce the classy, considered and competitive list. And don’t be afraid to ask for help to find what you’re looking for.
With your next drink sorted, settle in for some more substantive snacking. We’ve heard that locals are willing to pay a babysitter mid-week just to pop in for their fix of the much-loved menu mainstay of chicken liver pâté with cornichons and quince. And it's the prawn and crab toast with miso and sesame that's apparently the most popular menu item. Every dish that arrives is so tasty that we can’t help but order more. The vodka rigatoni is set apart with the addition of smoked ricotta, and even the witlof salad feels exceptionally considered, layered leaf upon leaf into a towering heap, drizzled delicately with a sweet mustard dressing and studded with shaved comtè. The cheese plate is generous in quantity and quality and the perfect way to cap off our evening at Albert's. We can’t wait to visit again soon.