Meet Monica, Ben Liew and Karl Tang’s retro-inspired neon dream. Liew and Tang met while working at Paper Tiger, and opened wine bar Makan in April 2024.
Monica is the pair’s third venture together. This time, the team has taken inspiration from Hong Kong bars Kinsman and Bar Leone, as well as Sydney’s Ni Hao Bar and Lucy Liu in Melbourne.
Monica is a bar that meets you where you’re at. Whether you’re looking for a drink before dinner, a bite before a show, a full meal or a midnight snack, the team has you covered. And crucially, Monica’s kitchen is open until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights.
What’s on that menu? Thick slices of salmon sashimi swimming in wasabi buttermilk; creamy Wagyu beef tartare, with cubes of fresh nashi pear, kimchi mayo and Pringles for scooping; and smoked corn salad with miso, grated cheese and scallions.
Liew has a specific love for charcoal-fired cooking. He says the technique gives “superior flavour, better searing and versatility, allowing for both direct high-heat grilling and low-and-slow cooking”. Liew enjoys experimenting with varieties of wood and specialty charcoals, like binchotan, to layer different flavours. “The drippings from food hitting the hot coals create flavourful smoke that infuses into the meat, seafood and vegetables,” he says.
His mastery of this technique is particularly evident in the yakiniku-style Wagyu skewers served with aged apple soy tare and Tasmanian wasabi and lamb skewers, which are sweet and fatty, spiced with cumin and chilli and served on Uyghur naan with yoghurt. Another highlight of the menu is the duck breast which is dry-aged in house for 14-days, before being lightly smoked and paired with pickled radish and a deliciously sweet umeshu plum dressing.
To complement the rich and smoky dishes is a cocktail menu that’s amped up with Hong Kongese flavours: there’s a ginger Coca Cola Old Fashioned, and a Tom Yum Martini which is zhooshed up with a house-made coriander vermouth and zingy chilli oil.
Monica
14 East Terrace, Adelaide
0451437099
Hours:
Tues to Thurs 5pm–10pm
Fri & Sat 5pm–2am
