J
akeSmyth’sonthefloor,hair
ragged,bustingoutofhissinglet.
KarlStefanovic,shirtunbuttoned
toa fewinchesabovehisnavel,
is sharingshotsofmezcal.Whenthe
UndergroundBrassBand’sversionof
NewOrleanssecondline,R&Band
soulisn’tblaring,it’sDrake,2 Chainz
andKendrickLamarbackingupA$AP
RockyonF**kin’Problems. Theolder
patronsseemfinewithit.Theyounger
onesaredancing.CaitlynRees,GT’s
2018 SommelieroftheYear,is pouring
wine.Andthelobsteris only$100.
We’vesaidthatentering
RestaurantHubertis theclosest
you’llgettolivingoutthe
Copacabanascenefrom
Goodfellas. Butwalkdownthe
stairsat Mary’sUnderground,
stepthroughthered-litdoors,
andbewhiskedawaytoa lo-fi
Australianaversion,wherethe
porkchopis servedwithwarrigal
greens,andTasmanianurchinhas
star billing at the raw seafood bar.There’sanotherHubertparallel.
Whenit firstopenedonBlighStreet,
Hubertwasthefirstrestaurantfroma
teamthathadmostlyrunbars.AtMary’s
Underground,JakeSmythandKenny
Graham,a pairwhobuilta reputation
onburgersandpubfoodat Mary’s,The
UnicornandTheLansdowneHotel,
havearrivedat thesamepoint.
Theirfirstfull-servicerestaurant,
though,is as investedinlivemusicas it is
inevolvingclassiccuisine.ThiswasThe
Basementfor 45 years,andinrenovating
it – withblackcarpet,redbanquettes,a
cocktailbarupfront,seafoodbarat the
back, stagefrontandcentre– theteam
inheriteda responsibility
topayrespecttotherootsofa
placethathashousedsuchacts
as DizzyGillespieandHerbie
Hancock.Sofartheeffortis
admirable.Bandstakethestage
everyevening– a jazzpiano
trioonTuesdays,a soncubano
six-pieceonSaturdays– and
play deep into the night.There’sa rareskillinvolvedin
identifyingthequalitiesthatmake
fastfoodsoappealing,distillingthem,
andexecutingconsistently.Mary’shas
perfectedit – at theNewtownoriginal
andspin-offs,theburgersandfriedchicken
aresomeofthefinestexamplesinthecity.
JimmyGarside,foodoverseerofthegroup,
anda manwhomaywellhavethesharpest
palateofalltrash-foodenthusiasts,has
builtthemenuhereand,aftersome
shuffling,JoelWooten,formerlyof
RockpoolDiningGroupandStJohnin
London,is onexecutionandevolution.
You’llfindnoburgersunderground,
butyouwillfinda menubuiltonthose
principles:soundideas,a strongpalate,
solidexecution.Morethananything,it’s
fun.Strawberryclamsareservedrawon
icewitha chaseroffermentedtunavinegar
shotthroughwithchilli.Hotdinnerrolls
gowitha wickedlysilkyduck-liverparfait
sharpenedwithpickledcumquat.Bombe
Alaskaburnsbluewithflamingmezcal.
Pan-friedfilletsofwhitinginbeurre
meunièrespeaktotheEuro-Australian
theme,witha sideofbliniaddinga little
à la Russefun,evenif thematchis a little
odd.There’sanenthusiasmforsaucethat
sometimesgoestoofar– hapukucrudo
andscallopswithajoblancobothend
upswimming– buta seaurchinsauce
accompanyinga wedgeofpotatotortilla
proppedupwithblueswimmercraband
coveredinseasucculentslandswiththe
rightamountofoceanicoomph.
Restraintis nota guidingprinciple.
Cocktails are big and punchy, and CaitlynMary’sUndergroundhastransformeda night
out, withgoodfoodandlivemusiccentrestage,
writesDAVID MATTHEWS.
Rocking encore
Abovefrom
left:Mary’s
Underground’s
drinksdirector
CaitlynRees(from
left),co-founders
KennyGrahamand
JakeSmyth,and
sommelierCharles
Leong;lobster
Australienne.42 GOURMET TRAVELLER
PHOTOGRAPHY NICHOLAS HILL (THE OLD FITZROY HOTEL) & JASON LOUCAS (MARY’S UNDERGROUND).