Jason Loucas
When was the last time you heard John Cougar Mellencamp or The Bangles in a restaurant? Not since you were sporting leg warmers and a perm, probably. You’ll hear them both at Vin-Cenzo’s, a recently opened Italian restaurant in Darlinghurst from the team behind the wildly popular Bar Copains and Bessie’s and Alma’s.
Anyone around during that era will notice other 1980s touches, too. The blue and yellow paint job and the popcorn ceiling. The ceramic rooster water pitchers and the Sunday best floral plates. Clams casino on the menu and ˗ my personal favourite – powdered parmesan to spoon into your agnolotti in brodo (though to be clear it’s freshly milled, not shaken out of a tub of Kraft). It’s all subtle enough that you don’t feel like you’re in an episode of Family Ties, but it’s nice to see Vin-Cenzo’s honouring its past. Until earlier this year it was the site of the beloved Bar Vincent, but before that it was the 1980s haunt of celebrities and ne’er-do-wells, Tre Scalini (think of it like Carbone replacing the infamous mob joint, Rocco’s, in New York).
Also very 1980s: a lavishly decadent menu. That agnolotti was a staple on the Bar Vincent menu but the addition of roast chicken and mortadella in the filling gives it extra meatiness. The fried veal tongue panini may be tiny but they pack a hedonistic punch. You can ask for extra sourdough to go with your duck liver parfait if you want to, but co-owner Morgan McGlone reckons you should go all in on a single slice, and pile on the pâté till it’s several inches thick. A big Burgundy from the Vault section of the wine list completes the picture. Â
The tuna tonnato – where the traditional folds of veal are replaced with tuna tartare – isn’t my favourite (don’t fix what ain’t broke) but I’m very fond of the thick pork sausage, and particularly its accompaniment of bright quince mustard. These balanced little pops of acid – there’s also a lovely quenelle of fennel and orange mostarda alongside the parfait, and a sharp tang of Dijon and pickled green tomatoes on the panini – have long been a signature of co-owner and head chef Nathan Sasi’s cooking, and they’re exactly the right way to counter all that richness.
The final 1980s hit comes with the biscotti, which are presented in vintage tins, a nod to the way many of us remember nicking the Arnott’s Assorted at nanna’s – or nonna’s – house.
Modern, glamorous and chic, Vin-Cenzo’s is no museum piece, but it does offer a little bit of comforting time travel back to a more carefree age. Leave the leg warmers at home, though.
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