The Venue

Bar Elvina has a climb up a flight of stairs to reach, but it is worth it and almost a hidden secret venue with the reward up the stairs, stairs are currently my worst nightmare, I have a torn meniscus and waiting for a surgery to fix, I look about 80 with my walking stick.

The venue gives off Mediterranean/Mexican vibes with its white and terracotta interior, its wonderful arches and the amount of sun the venue receives. The balcony is a superb place to sit watching the sun go down in your Avalon navy and white striped attire sipping cocktails.

There are so many places to sit to suit your mood and you need to hope you get invited to a private party their because their rooftop balcony is everything, or simply book your own. There are herbs growing everywhere, almost like you are in Italy in Summer. Yes please!!

The People

The staff were wonderful, I met Bar Elvina’s owner Andy Emerson – he has part owned heaps of familiar venues (The Passage, Acme, Bar Brosé and Prince of York). He is also a friend of Rowie’s and lives across the street from one of my longest and dearest friends, Scott.

We also had a very attentive waiter who backed off after asking us if we wanted anything three times as we were still waiting on Kai and Ali. He was a great waitperson who was knowledgeable on every dish and by halfway through the meal Rowie and him were on first name basis haha

The Food

Steak tartare classique, potato crisps

Tuna & kingfish crudo, strawberry vinegar, jicama, basil flower

Bavette steak (250g), eschalot butter, garden leaves

Barramundi fillet (220g), sorrel beurre blanc, salmon caviar

Linguini vongole, chilli, garden tomatoes, garlic, white wine

Broccolini, snap peas, lemon, hazelnut

Beef fat potato rösti, bottarga

Smoked vanilla ice-cream, strawberries, olive oil

Dark chocolate tart, orange sorbet, fennel pollen

What We Thought:

Now the food, there were some dishes I liked, some I didn’t, and then some I worshipped, but the dishes I didn’t like other people did so it just shows that everyone has different tastes.

Let’s start with the dishes I didn’t like and get that out of the way.

Firstly, the steak tartare, it was grey, for me colour or lack of, speaks volumes, I ate it but was not a fan of it – it should appear as raw steak appears, almost red. I am sure this comes down to…

What We Thought (continued):

… the sauce or flavours added but it didn’t do it for me, Rowie and the others didn’t mind the colour. Next up was the Bavette steak – it tasted wonderful but sat in a huge puddle of oil or butter or both, but I truly enjoyed this one, just less oil please. Again the others didn’t care or even notice, me, I am becoming a fuss pot lol.

The crudo was my favourite savoury dish – it was dish perfection. I am not a fan of Barramundi so didn’t try it, but Rowie raved about it! The Linguine appeared to be much loved, Kai got his first pasta lift in haha, and him and Ali spoke very highly of the dish.

I adore broccolini and it is so easy to make, if they stuffed this up you wouldn’t be reading this as I would have left haha, it was amazing with perfectly cooked green goodness.

And the table agreed, the rösti was a work of magnificence, so simple in presentation but wow, what a love punch it packed.

Now – their desserts have my love and nothing but praise, the tart was like an A-Grade Terry’s Chocolate Orange tart and as this is my 2nd favourite chocolate you may realise the love I had for this, but the smoked vanilla ice cream was BETTER! It was a work of art, the smokiness blew us all away and the flavours almost had me in tears, YOU MUST ORDER THIS and if you don’t love it as much as me, it is time to reevaluate your life lol.

In Conclusion

A bloody impressive venue in Avalon, Bar Elvina is now on my food radar, I look forward to dining there again with more local friends, if only the two dishes impressed me and then it would be a perfect score.

But the dinner and catch up with friends I know through different circles was priceless and what a place to do it!

SCORE BREAKDOWN: 2/3 food, 2/2 service, 1/1 drinks, 1/1 venue & ambience, 1/1 cost, 1/1 toilets & 0/1 bonus

*** Spooning Australia paid for this meal ***

All photographs are Copyrighted by Spooning Australia and Jason King – please feel free to share with full credit provided.

Bar Elvina Details

Website

https://elvina.com.au/

Email – info@barelvina.com.au

Address – Level 1/50 Old Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon Beach NSW 2107

Bookings – Yes

Pricing – Medium to High

Opening Hours

Wed-Fri from 4pm

Sat-Sun From 12pm

Vegetarian Options – Yes

Takeaway – Unsure

Local Delivery – Unsure

Gluten-Free Options – Yes

Kid Friendly – Yes