Zigi’s Art, Wine and Cheese Bar Review

BBM’s Ash Leszczuk checks out all the amazing wine and food Sydney’s Zigi’s Art, Wine and Cheese Bar has to offer…

Addictions, we are told, are bad for you. I fear that I am now addicted to a certain little restaurant/bar that goes by the name of Zigis in Sydney.

Sometimes words cannot do justice for experiences that leave you wanting more, craving more, and this was one such evening.

The combination of a “Seven Wines of the World” taster masterclass, hosted by the excellent Justin Walter (Cuttings Wines), with Zigi’s very own blend of “Ausraeli Cuisine”, this was a magical mystery tour of foods and beverages that left your taste-buds cartwheeling well into the night.

Having been fortunate enough to dine in some of the World’s top restaurants, the non-pretentious offerings from Zigi’s team were up there with the best of the best I have ever eaten. I would go as far to say that the 72 hour pork belly was the most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth, here one minute, gone the next, dish I have tasted in my life. Something that was echoed around our table of fellow diners.

The wines on offer took us from Austria to Australia, Germany to Spain and were expertly explained to us by Justin, in a manner that was informative and engaging (as Justin called it, “info-taining”), yet not tedious nor exhausting. We all know a wine buff, or so-called, but Justin simply pulled up a chair, poured himself a glass and let the evening commence. Exactly the way wine tasting should be.

It was in this relaxed atmosphere that allowed us to engage with Zigi himself. Owner/chef/barman/entertainer extraordinaire, from the beaches of Israel to the bars of Sydney, his passion for clean, crisp flavours was second to none, and boy did it show.

With a pre-wine hit of apple-pear-vodka-exploding pearls on a spoon, to the chocolate/tequila/chili pudding with molten core, as the man himself said, “We take the traditional, flip it on its head and inject it with 2014.” There was a lot more injection than just 2014 going on in each amazingly created mouthful.

The blended mix of wines rich in flavour (think earthy tones, pepper and spice, flowery and fruity) with stunning, scrumptious, exquisite Israeli-inspired foods, simply knocked us off our feet. There was even contemporary local art work hanging off every wall, as if our senses needed yet more overloading.

To say this place is my new favourite bar/restaurant does not do it justice. YOU need to explore it, you need to indulge in it, you need to taste it in, you need to make it YOUR new favourite eatery.

Ten out of ten across the board for the wines, food and evening as a whole. Need I say more? I pity the poor customers who missed the experience as they were stuck in traffic. Next time, come a day early.

Make sure you visit artwinecheesebar.com.au to find out when the next spectacular tasting night will be… as you definitely don’t want to miss it.

By Ash Leszczuk
@ashleszczuk