The corner banquette at Una Mas is a relaxed spot to sink chilled red and cop a sea breeze.Steve WoodburnJustin Hemmes won't reveal how much money he spent on Merivale's new fitout for Coogee Pavilion's middle level,but judging by the amount of marble,it's a lot.
The kind of moolah that might buy a collection of small Greek islands,most of Liechtenstein or a bedsit in Woollahra.
Certainly,some of those costs are absorbed by the dish prices atMimi's, Coogee Pav's flagship fine-diner,where salt-baked mud crab can weigh in at $180 a kilo,and a caviar trolley laps linen-clothed tables.
Go-to dish:Catalan coca,featuring tomatoes on a springy sourdough base.Wolter PeetersI'm all for push-the-super-yacht-out dining on special occasions,but a journalist's wage means Mimi's neighbouring wine bar,Una Mas,is way more in my financial comfort zone. I dare say most Sydneysiders will have similar feelings.
That isn't to say Una Mas is Mimi's for plebs. Far from it. The classroom-sized bar opened in January and it's a beautiful space where house-made charcuterie swings above bowls of fresh peaches and handsome earthenware frames an island kitchen.
Luxe bodega vibes are enhanced by natural light,and a walnut-brown banquette is the best spot to sink chilled red and cop a sea breeze sinceSean's Panaroma.
Mozzarella on lemon leaf.Wolter Peeters Thanks to the price of those chilled reds,you can drink well at Una Mas without haemorrhaging cash. From a list of 35 minimal-intervention drops,many wines are priced between $50 and $60 a bottle.
Combine a juicy 2018 Animale pinot noir ($55) from the Macedon Ranges with garlic-heavy fried potatoes ($12) and whole roasted snapper ($38),and hey,presto – you have a cracking supper for any night of the week.
Coogee Pavilion executive chef Jordan Toft channels the Mediterranean at most opportunities,but particularly at Una Mas,where tapas-style plates burst with sun-kissed flavours.
Whole fish with sea herbs.Wolter PeetersTake the knobs of Italian buffalo mozzarella ($8),for example,served on lemon leaves with the perfume of a holiday in Cinque Terre. Meanwhile,a bowl of plump pipis,pancetta and karkalla ($20) is exactly what you want to eat with wet sand still between your toes.
When Toft isn't about,Andrew Wandless leads the kitchen and a smoked ham hock terrine is the head chef's own creation. Also starring pork neck,parsley,allspice and thyme,the terrine is part of a $30 house charcuterie plate and I would like it served at every picnic from this day forth.
The Catalan coca ($12) is my new post-Coogee-swim snack,featuring happy tomatoes softened by a Josper oven and finished with oregano on a springy sourdough base. All the better with a house spritz ($16) that splashes spicy sherry vermouth about with fizzy pet-nat wine.
Frozen lemon with olive oil.Wolter PeetersThe same drink also lends itself to a lemon ice sorbet licked by olive oil ($12) for peak summer refreshment.
A note to the noise averse:Una Mas can be loud,particularly on a weekend evening when synthy music is cranked to soak a sound bleed from the nightclub-style bar upstairs.
Unlike Mimi's,Una Mas doesn't take bookings either,so you'll need to mount a campaign to score a window table and aim to arrive about 5pm.
The house spritz with vermouth and pet-nat.Wolter PeetersThese are small grumbles,however,and Una Mas is a welcome addition to the east. Coogee has long needed a great wine bar with interesting pours,and sommelier Adrian Filiuta's 600-bottle list from Mimi's is also available on request for anyone keen on grand cru chablis or Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.
For the rest of us,chilled Australian pinot is not just a very nice time at Una Mas,it's bloody good value,too.
If you only eat one thing: Catalan coca ($12).
If you only drink one thing: House spritz ($16).