When I was a kid growing up in Sydney, there was a secret French artist who 'painted' the silhouette of a beautiful lady, seen from behind with arms outstretched. She usually had a fitted red dress and cropped black hair, and she always had her pet cat with her. Her arms and legs were like slender tentacles swaying from her body. I say he 'painted' her because he put this evocative image on a variety of street surfaces around the eastern suburbs - in particular one alcove on Edgecliff road. He seemed to use oil crayons, paint, chalk - a whole variety of materials. I considered her to be 'my lady' when I was young, although now I know that many Sydney-siders consider her as a friend of their own. Then one day I noticed the artwork was fading and not being refreshed ~ my lady wasn't popping up unexpectedly in secret city-scapes.
Years later I found my lady in an art studio in Darlinghurst. It turns out the artist named Bruno Dutot had left Sydney for a few years, but returned and taken his lady off the streets and on to the canvas. I was lucky enough to receive one of those canvases as a Christmas present from my husband that year ~ I've had to leave her at home in Australia so that the oil paint doesn't get damaged, but now when I'm visiting home my lady follows me around my house.
The reason I tell this story, is because A Travola is just across the street from where Bruno's Studio was - it brought a lot of fond memories flooding back!
I visited A Travola with two friends, after a week of serious eating. We were feeling worn out, and a bit sceptical of any menu. We sat at the long, continuous wooden dining table that runs the length of the dining hall, and immediately started accepting our stern instructions from the European waitress. She went about her business with a level of seriousness that caused us not to question her, and to focus with furrowed brows on our menus.
The pasta selection was interesting and fresh, and there were some light but unique salads in there that caught my eye too. We settled on sharing some plates, and then proceeded to chatter amongst ourselves, hoping not to encourage the wrath of the waitress. She wasn't unfriendly, just unrelenting in her seriousness about the menu!
I don't recall being particularly full or bedazzled by the meal. It was alive with ingredients and benefited from being served al dente, but I was definitely left wanting. Perhaps that was a good thing considering the quantity I had eaten already that week!
However. . . desert blew my socks off. It came served in a coffee cup, and the fearsome waitress explained that it was best experienced by scooping your spoon directly to the bottom of the cup, and collecting a little of each layer of the desert on you're way back out. She was not wrong. Creamy and delicious is all I can say. I wish we'd ordered 3 of them, but I felt guilty asking my two friends to get their own.
In short, it's a nice atmosphere and benefits from being in the heart of what I consider to be one of Sydney's cultural centers. It's small enough to be hard-core, however I felt distracted and wasn't able to define their unique selling point. I guess I'll need a good excuse to go again.
Address: 348 Victoria St, Darlinghurst, Sydney
Ph: +02 9331 7871
Web: http://www.atravola.com.au/http://www.atravola.com.au/
Years later I found my lady in an art studio in Darlinghurst. It turns out the artist named Bruno Dutot had left Sydney for a few years, but returned and taken his lady off the streets and on to the canvas. I was lucky enough to receive one of those canvases as a Christmas present from my husband that year ~ I've had to leave her at home in Australia so that the oil paint doesn't get damaged, but now when I'm visiting home my lady follows me around my house.
The reason I tell this story, is because A Travola is just across the street from where Bruno's Studio was - it brought a lot of fond memories flooding back!
I visited A Travola with two friends, after a week of serious eating. We were feeling worn out, and a bit sceptical of any menu. We sat at the long, continuous wooden dining table that runs the length of the dining hall, and immediately started accepting our stern instructions from the European waitress. She went about her business with a level of seriousness that caused us not to question her, and to focus with furrowed brows on our menus.
The pasta selection was interesting and fresh, and there were some light but unique salads in there that caught my eye too. We settled on sharing some plates, and then proceeded to chatter amongst ourselves, hoping not to encourage the wrath of the waitress. She wasn't unfriendly, just unrelenting in her seriousness about the menu!
I don't recall being particularly full or bedazzled by the meal. It was alive with ingredients and benefited from being served al dente, but I was definitely left wanting. Perhaps that was a good thing considering the quantity I had eaten already that week!
However. . . desert blew my socks off. It came served in a coffee cup, and the fearsome waitress explained that it was best experienced by scooping your spoon directly to the bottom of the cup, and collecting a little of each layer of the desert on you're way back out. She was not wrong. Creamy and delicious is all I can say. I wish we'd ordered 3 of them, but I felt guilty asking my two friends to get their own.
In short, it's a nice atmosphere and benefits from being in the heart of what I consider to be one of Sydney's cultural centers. It's small enough to be hard-core, however I felt distracted and wasn't able to define their unique selling point. I guess I'll need a good excuse to go again.
Address: 348 Victoria St, Darlinghurst, Sydney
Ph: +02 9331 7871
Web: http://www.atravola.com.au/http://www.atravola.com.au/
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