Despite all its quirks and an insatiable appetite for all things out of the ordinary, Newtown never fully got behind Tandem – the aquavit-centric small bar that occupied the deceptively spacious, two-storey site at 127 King Street for nearly two years before it closed in August of 2020.
Was the focus on a relatively obscure Scandinavian distillate flavoured with caraway and dill just a touch too niche? Maybe so. Will the spot’s newest tenant – a bar/restaurant named after a 1993 cult film written by Quentin Tarantino, keen on small-batch Australian booze and Indian-inspired fare, of all things – prove a broader church?
That’s what owners Rob Kilby and head chef Nikhil Bhanot are hoping. Kilby both spent years managing a string of venues in Solotel’s expansive portfolio, including Darlo Bar and Public House Petersham. Bhanot, meanwhile, recently served as head chef at the Imperial Hotel and has stood behind the stoves at MoVida and Nomad.
This is their first independent venture and the earnest, come-as-you-are atmosphere that often permeates owner-operated venues is tangible here. Prop yourself up at the bar, and Kilby will salute you warmly, offer you a shot glass of crunchy spiced chickpeas and ask whether you prefer your water with a slice of citrus. Nice touch.
A quick glance around the joint reveals that Tarantino isn’t so much a theme as an inspiration. Memorable quotes (“You’re Rick fu*king Dalton. Don’t you forget it.”) from his movies are handwritten on the odd mirror, and cocktails take their names from songs on his celebrated soundtracks. Otherwise, however, it looks much like the offbeat, just-divey-enough bar you’ve come to expect from the Inner West: timber here, exposed brick there, a bit of graffiti and neon, billboard-style black and white photos plastered across the wall.
Many of the cocktails – all a reasonable $20 – are no-frills takes on ageless classics. A simple Spritz featuring Grainshaker vodka and Davidson’s plum bitters from Melbourne’s Autonomy Distillers doesn’t quite get the ratios right, but a souped-up spin on an Old Fashioned sure does, enlisting the help of cacao, mole bitters and Luxardo Maraschino to intensify Buckley’s rye whisky. At the other end of the spectrum, there’s the ‘Flower of Carnage’, which shakes and strains sake, white vermouth, orange blossom and rosewater into something as fluorescently coloured, and flavoured, as a gumball.
In a day and age when it’s practically impossible to snag a decent bottle of wine in a bar or restaurant for less than $55, True Romance has a tight and considered list full of them. That is a reason in and of itself to visit. Mostly, they fall under the fun, easy-drinking and low-intervention umbrella, which is exactly what you want in your glass if you’re sitting in the cute little courtyard out back on a summer evening. In an area that isn’t short on bustling beer gardens, this one is something of a secret, and a smart card to keep up your sleeve if you’re searching for somewhere more intimate.
Where food could so easily go the route of olives, dips, charcuterie and cheese, Bhanot’s menu draws heavily on his Indian upbringing, often to winning effect. Deep-fried clusters of mushrooms and paneer the texture of silken tofu are a compelling stand-in for croquettes or arancini, perked up with a coriander-rich sauce. It’s the generous portion of lava-hot fried chicken that really hits the mark, however, sandily textured and so juicy inside that it drips into the creamy, buttery makhani sauce beneath it.
Almost overnight, it seems, the northern end of King Street has become one of the city’s best bets for quality things to eat and drink, and True Romance makes a solid addition to the neighbourhood. Filling all 90-odd seats might prove to be a challenge with so much competition nearby, but there’s no reason they shouldn’t be – not when ‘Mr Brightside’ is on rotation, a set menu costs a mere $45 and the licence goes till 2am if things get frisky. Whether or not this romance results in an LTR is TBD, but there’s plenty to like about this place, right here and right now.