Mary's, Newtown

From the outside, it appears to be an alley where one goes and get knifed but little does one know that a slight deviation off the King Street strip hides one of the most talked about burger joints of late: Mary's. 

It's incredibly dark inside so I apologize for the nausea inducing pictures. They're planning to update the space soon with a dart board and all but for now there's not much save for a really dark space in a double story barn. It's a pub so expected a loud night but also go in expecting local beers on tap. You come here for booze, cheeseburgers and fried chicken. That's all. Don't go in expecting much else. 

Cheese Burger 14

Mary's Burger 14

It really does taste like a whooper but there seems to be a few subtle differences. The burger is insanely soft (no hyperbole). It just melts easily with its greasy sauciness made with a simple combo of tomato, mustard and melty cheese in a fugue of sweets and savouriness. Shoestring chips are generous but just the plainly run of the mill kind. There's 3 available: mushroom burgers for the vegos, cheeseburgers that come with pickles and Mary's burger that comes with lettuce and tomato (you know... to help make it a little healthier).

Mash and Gravy 5

Mash and gravy is a must order here. The potato mash is uber buttery and smooth, rounded off with a slight crack of pepper and an almost watery similarly buttery gravy with a real meatiness to it. Just give me a bucket of this and I'm set. Happy days.

Service here is great; sharp yet laid-back and relaxed at the same time. Glorified Hungry Jacks is what I keep thinking initially, especially at a 14 dollar asking price for what essentially are fries and burgers. It's still hard to justify and I'm not sure it's different enough to warrant another visit but it should definitely be tried out for newcomers. I'll be back for some good ol' fried chicken action in the future which I hear great things about.


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