Jose Silva is an interesting story. A Portuguese chef who headed up the kitchen with Guillaume Brahimi at the old incarnation of Bennelong, Silva ditched the pans a couple of years ago for an unlikely seachange of sorts.

Long a fan of the famous Sweet Belem bakery in Petersham, Silva got wind that the owner planned to sell and, fuelled in part by the idea of getting his hands on the recipe for their famous Portuguese tarts, decided to buy the joint.

“It wasn’t just because of the tarts but, yes, that was a factor,” Silva says. “Plus I was just a bit over restaurants. I wanted to have nights off for a while.”

The lure of a commercial kitchen returned, however, and teaming with his old pal and former Bennelong manager Jonathan Mallet, Silva handed over the bakery reins earlier this year and opened Bibo wine bar in Double Bay last month.

And to say the locals are going wild is an understatement. Packed to the gills every evening, Bibo manages to get everything just right.

It’s not pretentious — a feat for Double Bay — and the softly-lit New York-inspired interiors, all black marble and dark wood, are edgy without being over the top.

The wine list is overseen by one of Sydney’s best sommeliers, Louella Mathews, who has made the jump from Rockpool Bar and Grill. And the food.

Silva’s goal was to create a mix of Mediterranean share dishes inspired by his Portuguese roots without the cliches that some might expect (charcoal-grilled piripiri chicken).

The results are pitch perfect. There are things that verge on classics, such as bacalhau (salted cod) croquettes, and clams Bulhao Pato (clams in white wine), alongside left-field dishes such as Moreton Bay bug tails folded with egg and sprinkled with matchstick potatoes.

We start with a smoked mackerel pate ($10), which is served with just the right amount of bread — a concept some restaurants find surprisingly hard — and, like the glorious smoked cod pate at Fratelli Fresh, Silva’s is creamy and smoky with just that slight hint of butter, shallots and crème fraîche.

There’s a dish of runner bean fritters ($8), which are essentially green beans fried in a light tempura batter, seasoned slightly and piled high.

Moving up the price scale, there’s bone marrow ($18) that comes beautifully roasted with a crumb of anchovies and lemon — a perfect winter dish which goes beautifully with white wine.

And speaking of lovely winter dishes, the restaurant’s bestseller so far is the Rangers Valley beef short rib ($32), a thing of total greatness and a nod to Silva’s French fine-dining background.

Slow-cooked in red wine for 10 hours, the meat (which falls apart with a teaspoon) is served on the bone with a simple potato puree, shaved fresh horseradish, slivers of radish and finished with strands of watercress.

Perhaps the only dish that lacked wow factor was the pan-fried snapper served with globe artichoke, spinach, roasted tomatoes and bell peppers.

It’s not a bad dish, it’s just comparatively safe compared with some of the other offerings.

Speaking of safe, the Sweet Belem Portuguese tart is included on the dessert menu — a welcome cliche and one Silva says will be a constant as long as people continue to order it.

But the rest of the dishes will generally change seasonally, which is a good excuse to return every few weeks. Or days. Because Bibo is just fabulous.

Originally published on dailytelegraph.com.au