The darling of Darlinghurst, Love, Tilly Devine is named after one of the most diabolical female criminals in Sydney's history. Boasting the witty spirit of its madam, this hip wine bar offers a stellar wine list and a creative bar menu. The menu is a showcase of the restaurant's herb garden and that morning's market buys so the mostly-snacky dishes change daily. Without being pretentious about it, we want this to be a bar where people come to drink well rather than to just get drunk – a place to take a good friend, or a prospective lover. It is also a place to come to enjoy wine. We think wine should express the grapes from which it was made and the place where those grapes were grown. That means it should taste like fruit and herbs and flowers and minerals – not oak or alcohol. Even more important is that it must have balance. The wine list currently sits at around 300 different wines from many of the world’s great regions – everywhere from the Yarra Valley to the Jura to Wachau. Perhaps that’s excessive for a 40-seat bar, but we don’t think so. Lastly, the name. It’s a fairly direct reference to the former East Sydney heavyweight – brothel Madame and militia boss extraordinaire – Tilly Devine. Not that we necessarily advocate what she used to do. Instead, the name is more of a nod to the past and a salute to the neighbourhood that we call home.
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