1

Details

Bucatini with

mussels

Mr Liquor’s

Dirty Italian

Disco

Tennyson Hotel

Bottle Shop, 952

Botany Rd, Mascot,

(02) 9240 3000,

merivale.com.au

Licensed

CardsAE MC V

EFT

OpenLunch

Sat-Sun noon-4pm;

dinner Wed-Thu

6pm-10pm, Fri-Sat

6pm-11pm, Sun

5.30pm-9pm

PricesEntrées

$12-$17, main

courses $23-$30,

dessert $8-$11.

VegetarianOne

entrée, one main

NoiseIt’s not

called a disco

for nothing.

Wheelchair

accessNo

Minus“Fun”

Plus Fun!

ALL ROADS LEAD TO MARTA

Carbonara! Fried artichokes!

Bucatini! The site that was once

Popolo has been transformed by its

owner, Flavio Carnevale, intoMarta

(above), a celebration of Roman food.

It’s not just the best-known favourites

flying the flag – the lesser-seen likes

of vignarola, that splendid mix of

broad beans, peas and artichokes,

also get a run. And while the menu

is new, Carnevale’s commitment to

solicitous service and an inviting,

all-Italian wine list remains as firm as

ever.30 McLachlan Ave, Rushcutters

Bay, NSW, (02) 9361 6641

FULL TILT

Have you tried breakfast atPulp

Kitchen? As with its dinner menu,

the smart Canberra neighbourhood

bistro tilts things on their axis just

enough to keep them interesting.

There’s eggs on toast, omelette

on toast, and ricotta and lemon

hotcakes with maple and crème

fraîche, but also an oxtail, mustard

and carrot pie, served with fries,

and a pineapple smoothie with Thai

basil and lemon sorbet.1 Wakefield

Gardens, Ainslie, ACT, (02) 6257 4334

SLICE OF LIFE

And while we’re in Ainslie, in the

nation’s capital, let’s step next door

for a slice of pizza. And we do mean

slice: seating just six inside its sliver

of a space,Mama Doughcould

almost be seen as a hallway to its

wood-fired oven. Fortunately (for the

warmer months) it seats 22 outside.

Choose from The Usuals (’nduja,

olives, fior di latte) or The Unusuals

(sausage, chips, chilli, porcini cream,

smoked mozzarella) and make hay

while the sun shines.2 Wakefield

Gardens, Ainslie, ACT, (02) 6248 0591

but not in a fun way), say. But

that’s just a matter of there being

more worthwhile dishes. The

excellent roast chicken, for instance,

a brown and handsome bird,

jointed, juicy and lolling in a slick of

tarragon butter with half a roasted

lemon. Sardine aïoli makes an

inspired foil for fried sardines in a

light, crisp crumb, and tuna crudo

finds a groove with diced beetroot,

all showered in horseradish. Flavours

are generous but the plating is tight.

If whoever tizzed up the room

didn’t quite know when to stop, the

kitchen at least has a grasp of how

much is enough. Porchetta, yellow

beans and grilled spring onion.

Gnocchetti in a deeply savoury

lamb ragù. At no stage does a

waiter threaten to pour anything

from a tiny jug at the table.

The kilo of rib-eye grilled and

sliced to share is presented with

mustard, chilli sauce, horseradish

cream and a hunk of parmesan,

but really its best accompaniment

is a bottle of 2010 Biondi-Santi

Brunello di Montalcino–astealat

$148. Spending that kind of money

on wine at a restaurant that has

refectory-style tables and a mirror ball

isn’t for everyone, but Mr Liquor

has you covered. If you love wine,

but don’t mind having your glass

topped up by a kid inPhantom

Menacesocks, this place is the most

interesting thing to have opened in

Sydney in recent memory. When

you walk into the fridge you’ll find

the classics alongside the wines for

which team Pinbone has more

of an affinity (Gravner, the high

priests of Italian weird, and their

local counterparts). The snowsuits

hung by the coolroom door are an

endearing touch.

Service, led by Pinbone

co-founder Berri Eggert, is also

winning. It’s deeply casual, but

tied together by what looks like

a genuine commitment to helping

guests have a good time.

The hazelnut tiramisù is

pleasingly hazelnutty and free of

doilies, the panna cotta, more a

baked custard, a cheerily rough-

and-ready child of the wood-fired

oven, the soft-serve a strawberry

swirl sprinkled with strawberry,

and peanut brittle.

Strong in value and long on

merriment, Mr Liquor makes for

a wonderfully goofy outing. What

it isn’t is here for a long time – at

least not with the Pinbone team

running things. You’ve got until

April to drink your fill. Might

even be time enough to figure out

that whole doughnut-“bother me”

thing. Oh, wait! Doughnut bother

me –do not bother me. Haha. Good

one, Merivale.●

Strawberry swirl soft-serve

with pine-nut brittle. Left:

spatchcock with lemon

and tarragon butter.

PHOTOGRAPHY ALAN BENSON (MARTA)

56 GOURMET TRAVELLER

Sydney review

AND ALSO...