DiVino, Newcastle

Where: 2/115 Darby Street, Newcastle

Prices: Tapas, $5 to $18; cheese board, $22; sides, $8; platters to share, $49 to $65; desserts, $8 to $10

Chef: Justin King

Wines: Listed by grape variety; includes a range of Hunter, other Australian and some NZ drops with at least one out of each variety by the glass

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday (Closed Monday), no bookings

Vegetarian: Eight tapas dishes, including one bread, one dish of olives.

Bottom line: Generous selection for two and one dessert, about $80 without drinks

You have to be up early in this town to keep up with some chefs. Formerly at Rocksalt, briefly at Bar Petite, Justin King has a new gig - heading up the kitchen at Darby Street's newest "see and be seen" venue, DiVino. Tapas have taken the Newcastle eating scene by storm so when you are a on a good thing, stick to it. And with a vibe that is warm and inviting, with a definite clubby feel, there's a good chance this place will be a winner.

It's one of those restaurants where you can pop in for a drink and have a dish to go with it but with a couple of dozen tapas and four larger platters on the menu you will have a hard time choosing. What better excuse to make a return visit or better still, come back with an army of mates.

Dishes are made to share. Four cubes of potato-dense saffron-tinged frittata are seasoned with thyme and pecorino and topped with dollops of spicy tomato jam.

A terracotta dish holds chunks of softly chewy and garlicky marinated octopus, spiked with shredded basil and Greek oregano.

Six slices of soft and silky bresaola are simply and classically garnished with shaved pecorino, sprinkled with lemon-infused olive oil with a scattering of watercress over the top.

A generous bowl of lightly coated crisp whitebait sits beside a small dish of aioli. There could be a bit more garlic in the aioli but there's more than enough sauce for dipping all the tiny whole fish.

Don't miss out on the Moroccan crusted lamb cutlets with honey. The accompanying drunken dates come with their own health warning but don't worry, they won't put you over the limit, just provide a fitting fruity partner to the two spicy, pinkly juicy cutlets.

More lamb pops up in four kofta skewers (I said that these dishes divide nicely into two). A capsicum relish spices things up while a dish of raita cools things down.

The tapas menu, while offering six vegetarian dishes, tends to favour protein. To add balance you could choose the mushrooms stuffed with parmesan and herbs or the popular pumpkin gnocchi with wild mushrooms, sage, goat's cheese and basil but we are after some greens. A dish of semolina-coated zucchini strips fits the bill perfectly. They are crisp, light and get a flavour boost from the harissa aioli dipping sauce. If the flowers are no longer in season, there's nothing wrong with this as a substitute.

It's not dinner without dessert. There's orange polenta cake, probably a good gluten-free choice, although it doesn't specify; there's rich chocolate and caramel tart with raspberry sorbet; there's that Spanish version of creme brulee, crema Catalana; and there are churros (without chocolate though). But the goat's curd parfait is light and creamy, its tang balanced by a cherry compote. The disc of parfait is sandwiched between two pieces of almond biscotti, the only jarring note so far. The biscotti are nutty and golden, but sliced far too thick.

Don't wait too long to visit; this place is starting to become known and you can't book.