Coming Soon: Mat Lindsay Is Opening a 12-Seat Bar Just Around the Corner from Ester

After 13 years on the Chippendale block, Ester’s chef-owner Mat Lindsay has announced he will be opening a “sidebar” for his celebrated Chippendale restaurant: Pig Mary.

First things first, where did Lindsay find that exceptionally distinct name? Pig Mary is in fact a nickname given to Chippendale local Mary O'Shea, who was known for searching for offal and scraps from Ultimo’s slaughterhouses in the 19th century. “That’s what Ester was going to be called originally,” says Lindsay. “But then I just didn’t know if it would go down. I was like, ‘Let’s use it for this – finally’.”

When it opens, the teeny bar’s 12 seats are all but guaranteed to be the hardest to snag in Sydney. Pig Mary was first intended as a holding space for Ester, “but I think we’re going to go a bit more serious with it,” says Lindsay. “There’ll be wine by the glass, and Ester’s full wine list available by the bottle – we’ll run it down the road.”

Inside, people will fit in seats around the bar, at the window and at one small table, and the team has received approval for a few tables on the footpath. A new window has being popped in too, so the space is open to the street. The two venues are within 20 metres of each other, so those bottles are close at hand – as is Ester’s large kitchen, with its glowing wood-fire oven.

“There’s a tiny little kitchen in there that we’re going to do a bit of stuff in, but we’ll also run some stuff from the oven down the road as well,” says Lindsay. “The prep will be done at Ester, so you can expect the smokiness too.” 

Finer details are still loose, but the food will honour Mary further with plenty of pork dishes and you’ll see Ester classics returning in “more snacky, chilled out” forms.

Kendyl Parr – a Sydney hospo stalwart and longtime Poly employee – will run the bar, which will have tight by-the-glass and cocktail lists. There is talk of a Sgroppino using Ester’s young coconut sorbet, but the only drink set in stone so far is an essential: “a very cold Martini”. 

A coffee machine is on its way, and there’s chat of a casual daytime offering – think ham baguettes using bread from AP – but the team’s focusing on the bar to start.

“There’s always been a little sandwich shop [in this space],” says Lindsay. “I think it’s been there in some form for about 20 years. But the whole time we’ve been here, I was like, if this ever comes up, I’m just going to take it. And it came up, so I took it.”

Pig Mary is set to open at 42–46 Meagher Street, Chippendale, in spring 2026. 

@pigmary.au