Marra Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Sydney

The Coogee Bay Hotel is celebrating 150 years this year, and with winter keeping the crowds down, it’s a good time to get reacquainted. Mosey down a carefully curated corridor depicting the history of this icon on your way to the hotel’s 2022 update, the Marra Bar & Grill. Marvel at the fact that the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown was actually the first time since the war that this historic hotel closed its doors. Move through the Marra cocktail bar where framed wall-posters from the hotel’s Selina’s days advertise headline acts like Nirvana and the Violent Femmes: if these walls could talk, what would they say? For history you can taste, check out the legacy menu of retro cocktails and snacks, from 1920s Charlie Chaplins ($22/each) to 1970s bangers and mash ($28). For a contemporary tipple, the tomato-garnished Marra Martini ($23) is easy to like, combining Tanqueray and Stone Pine rhubarb gin.

Marra takes up prime real estate facing the equally iconic Coogee Beach. A raised arched roof, seemingly lined with fairy lights and brown paper, gives it a cocoon-like feeling on a blustery night, but no doubt would feel sandier and coastal during the day. The floor team is sweet and well-intentioned, with accents that remind you backpacking is once again a thing. Oysters ($6/each) “from the East coast of Australia” are eventually narrowed down to the aquamarine waters of Pambula. Served freshly shucked over ice with plenty of liquor, they are so good, we instantly order a second pair. Most of the menu centres around the Josper grill. Teaming a charcoal grill with a door you can close gives chefs the temperature control of an oven. It ensures your rump cap ($33) arrives both moist and smoky, even cooked to a perfect medium. Ignore the chips in favour of wickedly creamy Paris mash ($12) and minted peas ($11) and you’ve moved from pub to high-end steakhouse. I was slightly less taken with the pizza, its base lacking the characteristic char, but appreciated the simple, Josper roasted beef ($29), brie and grilled red capsicum topping.

What bumped my night from ordinary to memorable was teaming it with the Giant Steps Primavera Pinot Noir ($27/glass). This is just a joyful drop, and one you can also pick up in the hotel’s bottle shop to take home with you if you love it as much as I did. The by-the-glass list here is amazing, with a Coravin system allowing them to offer glass prices of bottles you might not easily afford to drink, like the Californian Orin Swift Mannequin Chardonnay ($30/glass). It’s straw gold but surprisingly elegant with caramel, balanced oak and lemon. There’s also plenty to like at the...

We’ve long been fans of the Coogee Bay hotel, we once hit up Selina’s nightclub, had one or more drinks in the beer garden and danced the night away in the front bar to a live band. We even met there one Saturday evening. So Coogee Bay is extra special for us. It’s been great to see it evolve over the years and especially with quite a sophisticated restaurant in Marra Bar and Grill.

As the seasons become cooler, there may not be as much desire to sit out in the beer garden, so why not bring it inside for a few drinks and a great meal in Marra with their new menu this winter. Our visit was an exceptional dining experience with outstanding service, meals prepared and presented quickly and they showed excellent culinary skill.

The venue has a lovely beachside Aesthetic, with beach inspired artworks and the feeling that you’re in caves by the ocean. On a bright and sunny afternoon you get picturesque Coogee beach views.

The menu is delightful, enriched with plenty of protein offerings, salads; pizzas and some of your pub style favourites like burgers and schnitzels. For a hearty meal this winter, you may be keen for bangers and mash or a shepherds pie.

We went for a seafood start, opting for the octopus and beautifully cooked scallops served on a bed of crushed peas and also crunchy potato scallops, a really lovely meal and super tasty.

For our mains, we shared the oven-roasted half chicken, which was so moist, topped with a nice gravy and accompanied by roasted and herbed kipfler potatoes. This is a huge serve and certainly makes the meal feel comforting and homely.

A favourite of Marra diners is the Casarecce Pasta, and we can see why, for it’s a perfectly cooked al dente pasta featuring local prawns and a rich lobster stock. We had ordered a lot of food, but managed to finish it all off as we liked it so much.

There’s desserts like the Caramel Tiramisu and Lemon Curd with Raspberry Sorbet to round off the menu, and we can certainly recommend the caramel tiramisu. The tiramisu is a traditional one, sitting with a side of caramel sauce. It’s a great version of it, and the biggest slice possible was what we received! Definitely worth its value.

We left very satisfied and can definately recommend a visit here. Not only this, the new menu coincides with the “Quintessentially Coogee” campaign, offering patrons the chance to win enticing prizes, so that’s certainly another selling point.

Not to mention a range of great drinks like the watermelon margarita. You’re certainly set for...

I ate here today and was so disappointed that I had to write a review.

Here's what I had:

Starter: Tempura Cauliflower — The portion size was fine but it was SO bland. It was served with a few tiny dollops of sauce but it lacked any seasoning and a proper dipping sauce. Cauliflower is like chicken, you need to season it, otherwise it just tastes like boiled cauliflower / boiled chicken.

Main: Eggplant with Polenta Fries — This sounded nice on paper, but again, it was SO bland. It was served on a relish-style sauce but that didn't make up for the overall lack of seasoning. It seemed as though the eggplant was popped in the oven with no seasoning at all?! Again, eggplant is like chicken, it's a blank canvas that requires seasoning. I had to ask for pepper to season it and that improved it dramatically, which tells you how bland it was. The chef really needs to take a trip up the street to Coogee Pav to try their roasted eggplant dish (with tomatoes, capers, pine nuts, drizzled in olive oil, and well-seasoned with salt and pepper).

I gave feedback to the waitress about the eggplant. She said that she conveyed my feedback to the chef, who then relayed that the seasoning was in the relish underneath the eggplant. So I guess it didn't matter that the eggplant was completely bland.

I'm writing a review here in the hopes that someone reads it and takes note. While I appreciate a vegetarian/vegan option, I'd rather you not offer one if it's going to be so average, as you're not doing anyone any favours.

Whoever runs food here should visit Coogee Pav, Sugarcane, Thai Banyantree, and Seasalt and see how other locals are doing vegan...