WhileMGGaragemightnothavehadtheviewsofsome
otherhotspots,it certainlykeptpaceintermsofluxury.Where
elsecouldyougotodineamongsta showroomofclassiccars- and,if theurgetookyou,orderonefromthemenu?Kyritsis
recallsthathissignaturedish,a guineafowlbakedinclayand
theatricallycrackedopenat thetable,generateda hugeamount
ofinterestfromUSjournalists.They’dneverseenanythinglikeit.
WhiletheInternationalOlympicCommitteestaffreserved
QuayastheirpersonalcanteenforthedurationoftheGames,
theGreekdelegation,onreconnaissanceaheadoftheAthens
Olympics,pickedMGGarageasitsunofficialheadquarters.
“TheymusthaveseenmynameandrealisedI wasGreek,”
saysKyritsis.Oneevening,herealisedhewashostingboth
KonstantinosStephanopoulos,Greece’sthen-president,who
wasdiningwiththeheadoftheHellenicOlympicCommittee,
andConstantineII,theexiledformerkingofGreece,whohad
arrivedwitha retinueoftycoons.“I seatedthemat oppositeends
oftherestaurant,” laughsKyritsis.“I hadtokeepthemseparate.”
Forthose 16 days,it wasa whirlwind,a celebration— but
likeallgoodthings,it sooncametoanend.Andwhenthe
circuslefttown,theindustryfeltit.
“I thinkweallexpectedit wasgoingtobea partyforquite
a longtimebuttheOlympicscameandwent,”saysTomlin.
“Assoonasit wasover,it wasover.Finished.It wasthatbrutal.”
Manyrestaurantsdidn’tsurvive.Theindustrytooka further
beatingduringtheSARSepidemicof2003,followedbythe
globalfinancialcrisisin2008.Banccloseditsdoorsin2003,
bywhichpointthecityhadalreadylostChristineManfield’s
Paramount,TonyBilson’s AmpersandandPeterDoyle’s Cicada.
MGGarageclosedin2004,twoyearsafterKyritsishadleftthe
business. Chefs pivoted fromdégustation and white tablecloths
“TheOlympicscame
andwent.Assoonasitwas
over,itwas over.Finished.
It was that brutal.”Clockwisefrom
farleft:MGGarage;
MGGarage’sJanni
Kyritsis;theview
ofSydneyOpera
HousefromAria’s
dining room.68 GOURMET TRAVELLER