It’s exciting to see the former Efendy site in Balmain return to a convivial indoor-outdoor eating destination. Casa Esquina is the latest venture by Atticus Hospitality and it branches away from the Mexican food and mezcal they are famous for at Esteban and Tequila Mockingbird. This time they have been inspired by Argentinean barbeque, or parrilla, creating a menu that centres upon meat. But first, there are empanadas in rustic pastry, given an Australian twist by head chef Will Quartel in the standout kangaroo and maraschino cherry ($12/each). Each empanada, including the more standard beef, olive and raisin ($10/each) comes with a tiny pot of Will’s DC hot sauce (a smoky-sweet barbeque sauce with a mild level of heat) and fresh salsa criolla where tomatoes, peppers, onions and enough red wine vinegar help to cut through the richness.
Take them with cocktails plucked from an interesting list—as you’d expect for an Atticus Hospitality venue—that includes the fractionally-too-sweet I’ve Gochu Now ($23). Think of it as Mexico meeting Asia in a rumble between Aguas Mansas mezcal, Choya umeshu and gochujang smoothed out by mandarin. It’s bested by In a Pickle ($24), a pour-it-yourself Old Youngs Gingin gin martini that’s hard to untangle, but is a briny, maritime drink with a hint of floral interest. It’s so good, I want to go back just to drink it again. There’s also something to be said for drinking outside in an attractive courtyard setting, seated on a smooth poured concrete banquette under the deep blue night sky with lights reflecting on green camphor laurel trees: though a seat cushion on the hard, cold surface wouldn’t go astray.
Casa Esquina has a lot of staff, who are very friendly but emanate confusion that hopefully time will address: it’s still early days. Cowra lamb sweetbreads ($32/150 grams) were deliciously simple, but we should have been advised to take them with Penny Fours’ excellent sourdough bread ($4/each). Vongole pasta ($20/$40) described (and ordered) as an entree arrived as a main, and disappointed with gluggy strands of pasta, partially rescued by shellfish and uni sauce baked onto the vongole clams. The main event—Tajima wagyu picanha ($76/275 grams)— had a good crust of char but rump cap warrants the interior being taken a little further (we left it to the chef). Fried Brussels sprouts ($16) were so undercooked they were inedible, with a few crisp leaves hiding tough raw green cores.
