Templo, Hobart

 A tiny, unassuming little gem seating no more than 18, Templo is a neighbourhood gem in the truest sense of the word. The set menu, along with a small-ish wine list, is scrawled on a blackboard. The kitchen is semi-open, the chef calling "service" from time to time. The glasses and the drinks are lined up near the teller, to be picked up casually, as if reaching in one's cupboard at home, whenever a drink is ordered. 

While awaiting the food, fresh bread is served. Drizzled with olive oil, it is fluffy, pillowy, and large loaves of them rested near the open kitchen temptingly. We ordered a skin contact wine to pair with the first couple of courses - refreshing like a white, but bolder and deeper, with strong and distinctive passion fruit notes on the nose. 

The first course, the gnocco fritto, consist of little fried pieces of bread to be wrapped in cured meat along with pickle. The pickle at Templo is distinctly sweet compared to most pickles, which works very well with the salty cured meat. Little morsels of fried fish balls are smooth, crispy and delicious. 

For an additional $20, thinly sliced sliced pork belly with capers is added to the menu. I am used to pork belly being soy-based, braised, heavy and rich; but the pork belly at Templo is the opposite: light, delicate and melt-in-mouth. 

To me, the mark of a truly good restaurant is one which makes vegetables taste divine and absolutely satisfying. The hearty yet tender romesco is cooked beautifully with a burst of flavour from the nduja and salty pecorino. 

I am a pasta-lover, and I was particularly charmed by the bucatini, which, dispite looking like thick spaghetti, is so much better: it is hollow, giving it a boucy, chewy texture that spaghetti cannot rival. Sardines is a fish I usually fear, but I absolutely trust the experts at Templo and I was rewarded with its savoury-oceany-fishiness balanced by currants. To go with the pasta, we moved on to Templo's own pinot noir. Not my usual red of choice, but its light and berry-like notes worked very well with the pasta. 

The panna cotta at Templo is perhaps the best I have had: shaped more like a dollop of ice-cream and with texture less gelatinous than others I've had, I was won over by the silky smooth vanilla goodness accompanied by rhubarb, which gave a welcome burst of tartness and crunchy pistachio. A little tipple of amaro, with its herby, fragrant notes, completed the meal. 

Score: 5/5
Cost: lunch at approx $100pp including drinks 
Address: 98 Patrick St, Hobart TAS
Website: https://templo.com.au/