The Curtain Rises at Marrickville’s Newest Cafe, Matinee

This Marrickville newcomer is from Charles Cameron, formerly of Brewtown Newtown , and its retro design is inspired by the milk bars that once dotted the inner west.

“We aren’t a milk bar, but we wanted to reference the diversity of the area with the design of the place,” Cameron tells Broadsheet , adding that Australian cafe culture wouldn’t be where it is today without the legacy of immigrant hospitality operators.

The Greek-Australian milk bar is a national icon and a testament to the success of diasporic enterprise and multiculturalism. Milk bars peaked in the 1930s; they were where locals blew paychecks on steak and eggs and malt milkshakes before the theatre. But recently their numbers have dwindled (the closure of Stanmore’s Olympia is a recent casualty).

The space is designed by Luchetti Krelle (Longrain Tokyo , Banksii , Terminus), and imposes its presence on the street with open bi-fold doors, colour and texture. There are green velvet chairs tucked under a large crimson-tiled communal table. Two bulbous lamps hang overhead, holding the fort while the place waits for the arrival of an impressive Art-Deco chandelier feature. The marble and wood-panelled bar curves its way from the service area to the kitchen’s pass, presiding over a room where linoleum surfaces are in abundance: a textural nod to last century’s milk bars. From the sky-blue floor to the orange table tops, the theme is considered rather than emphatic.

A timber banquette occupies the space opposite the open kitchen where chef Michael Smith (ex- Otto and Brewtown) is serving a concise menu. For breakfast, hazelnut brioche is used to make French toast, which is served with caramelised banana and orange buttermilk ricotta. There’s a coffee-rubbed pork hash accompanied by poached eggs, or a Persian rice kedgeree tossed through with currants, goat’s cheese and rose petals.

From 11am the hand-rolled saffron pasta comes with hot smoked salmon, kale and tomato, and specks of bottarga. A classic Reuben is enhanced with crumbed eggplant and is best paired with draught beer from local brewery The Grifter Brewing Co. The fried-chicken burger is tempered by pickled onions and served on a brioche bun. Double down on the poultry and order it with a side of popcorn chicken.

Clarissa Capriati brings experience from Bennelong to the pastry kitchen. There are savoury muffins, brioche knots and a hemp brownie the staff has dubbed “the space cake”. Dietary requirements are accommodated, most impressively in the form of a dairy-and-gluten-free lemon meringue pie, which is made from aquafaba (a chickpea foam), so it’s vegan, too. “We didn’t want to serve vegan or gluten-free options as an afterthought,” says Cameron.

Coffee is roasted at Collective Roasting Solutions under the consultation of Sydney coffee consigliere Sam Sgambellone (Soma , Mecca). Served with milk, the house blend is designed to taste like Neapolitan ice-cream. There is a rotating menu of single-origin options for espresso and filter coffee.

As for the name, Cameron sees a trip to the local cafe as a crucial act in the theatre of the weekend. “Brunch is essential here. It’s the daytime show: the matinee, if you will.”

Matinee
23–29 Addison Road, Marrickville
(02) 9519 7591

Hours:
Daily 7am–4pm

matineecoffee.com

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