Mem R.
Yelp
Where to begin? I'm going to start back in June 2014 when Sidecar, my favourite late night small bar, closed its doors and a piece of my heart turned black. Track forward to October 2015 and that black piece of my heart is slowly coming back to life, thanks to templo.
I knew templo was coming, but I wasn't sure where it was going, until I literally walked past it on my way home from work the other night. There were still diners inside, but it was late (almost 10pm) so I stuck my head in just to enquire after last service. Within moments I was shown to a table and there was a negroni in front of me. I tried desperately to hold back tears of joy. (This review is going to be VERY floral, these things happen when I'm in love.) I also got reminded instantly of crusing through the streets of Brooklyn, passing little hole-in-the-wall diners with amazing logos and warm insides.
No menus at templo--the short and sweet food offerings are displayed up on the blackboard above the peephole into the kitchen. Take your pick of what's on offer or hand the reins over to the chef--my VERY FAVOURITE THING TO DO. SHUT UP. I ended up eating my way through half the menu, trying very hard not to get attached to anything because the board will be ever-changing with fresh, seasonal, local ingredients. Having said that, every dish was delicious. I threw in a dessert to boot because I can't resist a citrus-forward dessert, and the meyer lemon semifreddo was just so, so good.
I also really love what they've done with the space... I've seen three different uses of this space now and this is absolutely my favourite. One big exposed brick wall, a lovely tiled bar, a window bench seat, a beautiful big round wooden table, great light fittings... and beautiful servingware too. It only seats around twenty people but when the tables are full it feels cosy and alive.
Matt and Chris looked after me so well that my only concern will be sticking to my budget in the future as I'll be walking home past templo at least twice a week. I'm also over the moon that they're open on Sundays and Mondays, as it's rare to find somewhere good in town open during hospo weekends! Maybe I'll just have to pop in for round two tonight, though...