Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
For anyone who follows dining trends in Melbourne, it’s old news that wine bars are having a long, delicious moment. Less formal than a by-the-book restaurant but carrying a greater sense of occasion than a small eatery or café, the wine bar is where you can dip your toes into a snack 'n' sip sesh instead of diving headlong into the commitment of a full meal.
In any case, it’s vino-paired lunch my partner and I seek one fine Sunday afternoon and so off we trot. We already know we’ll be in good hands at Marama; the bar is run by cousins and business partners Grace Dowell (Proud Mary) and Tom Gunn (Capitano, Proud Mary), who are both no strangers to providing winning neighbourhood hospitality. They focus on local producers here, networking with Victorian farms and small suppliers within a five-kilometre radius to deliver their seasonally adaptive menu. All the bar’s beers, too, are Victorian, while even the cocktails on offer stick to Aussie-made spirits and liqueurs.
When we take our seats at around midday, soft jazzy piano fills the air and nicely dressed families and locals are lunching along with us. There’s a set market lunch menu at just $45 a head on Sundays, which we’ve booked for in advance.
Legendary winemaker Owen Latta seems like the perfect kick-off point and I decide to try his What-A-Melon rosé. Far from the flirty, un-serious drink its name indicates (and let’s be real, I didn’t mind if I received), this drop is a funky, somewhat savoury blend of pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, viognier, nebbiolo and riesling – the stuff that alternative aperitif dreams are made of.
On that note, you’ll find a lot of experimental stuff to love at Marama, pet nat, quirky cocktails and all that. The names of famed winemakers like Mac Forbes and Dirty Black Denim are plastered on both the wine list and the labels of bottles that line the walls’ shelves. The venue just sings long, gossipy wine sesh and I can spot pairs of friends engaging in exactly this.
You can sit on the streetside terrace if you please, but we’re huddled inside to get a sense of Marama’s heartbeat. The burnt amber-hued velveteen banquettes are too comfortable to resist, even if the sun beckons outside.
First on our table is a charred octopus-topped potato rosti with paprika aioli. In contrast to the pillowy, fried potato, the firm octopus presents a challenge: to get it all down together in one bite. But it’s an interesting dish, each ingredient undoubtedly as fresh as can be.
The one that comes next is more fun to eat: a melange of stracciatella with XO sauce and pickled mushrooms, designed to ferry into our mouths with some sort of hardy rice cracker. I’m swept back into memories of Keen’s curry powder or Branston pickle, such is the lip-smacking complexity of this zingy, spiced mess. Yummo.
My favourite dish, the third and final savoury course of the menu, is a steamed market fish with butter beans and a white wine cream sauce. It’s cooked perfectly, fork-tender and tasting so delicate in its satin-smooth preparation, and I don’t remember when I last enjoyed a piece of fish so deceptively simple. We want to try a red alongside it, which is not always advisable, depending on what’s on offer. But luckily, our sommelier is able to recommend a lush tempranillo from Camwell Wines – a micro batch, minimal intervention producer from McLaren Vale – that works.
Throughout the course of this easy-going Sunday lunch, each wine is served at the optimum temperature and each dish serves to bolster rather than overshadow its pairing. That masterful restraint at Marama extends to the seasoning of the food, allowing you to savour the true taste of the produce without unnecessarily (and often distractingly) flashy preparation.
Those who live nearby Marama are lucky to have it on their doorstep, and there’s no doubt that this wine bar has its operation down-pat. I’ll certainly be back to sip my way through the rest of the wine list and enjoy another fabulous market-fresh lunch. What a gem!