Grant Smillie Returns Home for Marmont, a New Project at Crown

Forget the blackjack tables, when was the last time you made a night of it at Crown Riverwalk? The waterfront precinct once buzzed with exciting owner-operated restaurants like David Thompson’s Long Chim, but for the past five years, private equity-backed stalwarts like Rockpool and Spice Temple have been the sole draws.

Grant Smillie could be the right person to bring the vibes back. The club, festival and radio DJ started his hospitality career by co-founding Ponyfish Island in the middle of the Yarra before moving to Los Angeles to start EP & LP in West Hollywood with business partners. The group went on to open two more venues in the area: Strings of Life and Grandmaster Recorders. All three venues have a rep for good food and drink, but more notably for years of sustaining A-list interest, including that of Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. That’s a decent boast in a city as fickle as LA.

Which brings us back to Crown, and that prominent waterfront location.

“I’ve been in discussions with Crown for six or seven years, but it wasn’t until the old Rosetta space became available that I was interested,” Smillie tells Broadsheet.

Marmont is the name. In keeping with Smillie’s background and LA venues, music will play a key role at the all-day, 125-seat venue, equipped with an all-vinyl DJ booth. Smillie’s various friends from the music world will contribute playlists and set the tone. He envisions an experience like the Back to Mine series – compilation albums of afterparty songs.

“What would you play at home?” Smillie asks. “Pick your favourite records of all time, but they’ve got to be rare. They can’t be cheesy; they’ve got to be cool. That’s what I want [them] to play here.”

Beyond Smillie’s own projects, Marmont draws inspiration from a number of popular LA spots, including Italian-American hotspot Jon & Vinny’s, celebrity chef Nancy Silverton’s Osteria Mozza and the New England-inspired seafood joint Found Oyster. Which is to say, expect a snacky, seafood-heavy menu with Californian and Italian sensibilities. Two dishes revealed so far are ceviche tostadas dressed with yuzu, lemon and basil, and house-made soft pretzel sticks filled with Old Bay-seasoned king crab.

Marmont’s planned December opening is fitting for a venue that aims to bring a bit of LA’s signature breezy, outdoor glam to Melbourne. Can it shock the Riverwalk back to life, though? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Marmont is due to open at 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank in mid-December.

With additional reporting by Shabnam Sindhu.