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29.11.10
Miss Marley's in Manly - Review
Sydney’s liquor licensing law reforms have resulted in more & more pop up bars, cute and cosy tapas style restaurants and funky cocktail lounges. Yes you heard me right! The bland white on white oversized restaurants & bars along with the big screen TV’s and pokies are slowly but surely experiencing a long overdue drawn out death.
Finally the gorgeous city of Sydney can begin to rival the Melbourne food scene and what a welcome change that is. Not to forget the recent South American invasion - a very nice & well received take over. Finally we can get good tapas with no signs of Patatas bravas on the menu.
Miss Marley’s is a great new addition to Manly in what has traditionally been a rowdy suburb after dark - injecting a very grown up and sophisticated 1950’s glam with a sprinkle of South American flavours. The menu features classics from the Central and South American region, as well as influences from Cuba and the Caribbean by Chilean Chef Trinidad Lopez.
Our little adventure started on Monday night. This is normally our quiet night of the week; to be precise it’s generally sushi/sashimi night - our “healthy start” to the week.
Venturing North is a rare experience indeed for us, mainly due to the endless array of amazing restaurants and bars that are a hop and skip from our front door within the 2011 postcode. But every now and then a rare gem is exposed that lures us across the Harbour.
Miss Marley’s is not where you would expect it to be - on the wharf with all the hustle and bustle of Manly. Instead it’s located on the unassuming Belgrave St, a short walk from our Ferry drop off and across the road from the tennis courts.
When we arrived, the first thing we noticed was a cluster of guests gathered around the glistening shrine-like gold bar. We were eagerly greeted by our lovely hostess who showed us to the bar and introduced us to some of the other guests. In our mingling we were introduced to a lovely man “Emanuele Cicero” – an Italian/Chilean wine merchant. Emanuele is from La Bodega wines and happened to be our wine host for the night, and supply’s Miss Marley’s and a string of other excellent South American restaurants with their very well priced selection of Chilean and Argentinian wines & Piscos.
The evening started with one of my favourite cocktails “Pisco sour” - it’s already a good start! This Pisco was from Chile which Emanuele insisted was more suitable for this cocktail. Who am I to argue with the master??? Although I do have a Peruvian foodie friend would probably put up a very strong argument however I fear she may also be slightly biased.
The Charcuterie board (Embutidos board) served at the bar had a lovely selection of cured & smoked wagyu beef, Chorizo and some very nice, slightly tangy balsamic onions. I was careful to pace myself at this point, I have been known to shoot for the stars and quickly fizzle out.
After some more mingling we were shown to our candle-lit table with the first course of empanadas served with a lovely crisp (Ochagavia Gran Reserva) Chardonnay. We each had 2 bite sized empanadas, a beef & olive offering – delicious, and a very tasty corn and manchego cheese served with a coriander based salsa – my personal choice.
The second dish presented to us was hot chorizo with baby cornichons & paprika oil - this wasn‘t a favourite of mine. It was however perfectly matched with a very refreshing fresh Rose (Ochagavia Silvestre). This was so exceptionally priced that we actually ordered a case (along with a few other favourites from the night).
Third dish was 4 x Padron peppers to share between two us (perhaps better described as an appetiser than a course, but nevertheless an interesting inclusion). As our waiter deposited the plate in front of us he did so with a disclaimer - one in ten is VERY chilli. How relieved I was to not become a statistic. Emmanuel matched this with a very interesting and tasty Merlot (St Alicia Merlot Reserva).
Fourth dish was a Tuna Pica - a tuna tartare with currants, almonds & shredded coconut with a Jerez sherry, lime vinaigrette & micro herbs. This was very tasty, delicate dish, with flavours working really well together – the only downside was having to share! The shared serving at slightly bigger than a 50 cent piece left us fighting over the last crumbs!
The finale was a crispy skinned quail glazed with a habanero & blood orange reduction. This was a good serving although once again I was left wanting more. This course was again matched well with a Chocalan Malbec Gran Reserva. I must confess I do have a soft spot for a good old Malbec - it tends to conjure up some lovely memories from our Buenos Aires trip a few years ago.
Whilst contemplating how best to end the night, we discovered one of the owners Adam Clarke just so happened to be sitting right next to us. He so very kindly offered us a Patrón Tequila Coffee which we gladly accepted (times 3 each!). This in hindsight may not have been such a great idea especially on what’s supposed to be a healthy Monday night.
Overall? Top night! Great service, tasty tapas, reasonably priced menu and a cool space. It’s my kind of restaurant/bar and a great new addition to the Manly area.
My only small criticism would be about the serving size - promoted as 5 dishes on offer, I feel expectations would have been better managed had it been promoted as 5 tapas matched with 5 wines. I wish we also got to taste some of their signature dishes on offer- the Peruvian curry or Ceviche, but that just gives us an excuse to return, as I’m sure we will.
If you’re a local or in the area and looking for a venue catering for a very stylish 30’s plus demographic who enjoy good food and wine in a relaxed fun atmosphere, head over to MM’s and explore their culinary adventure into South America.
www.missmarleys.com.au
Written by Lena Hashem for Wine.Food.Hotel. Wine.Food.Hotel was a guest of Miss Marley's.
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