Featuring: M.I.M by 1821, Maydanoz, Manon Brasserie…

DISCRIMINATING diners have flocked back to Sydney’s CBD restaurants this year. Social media has been awash with comments on how difficult it has become to snag weekend bookings in the area’s top-flight restaurants. One of the most sought-after venues is M.I.M by 1821, a modern Greek gem whose acronym stands for Made in Mykonos. The 1821 part of the name references the year of Greek independence from the Ottomans and an earlier iteration in Pitt Street run by the same owners which closed at the end of 2020.
A founding co-production between the families of Jim Kospetas (the Civic Hotel) and Steve Anastasiou (China Doll), the open plan, glamorous space was already well-peopled with Millennials sipping original cocktails such as Ouzotini, a blend of the definitive Greek spirit, vodka, peach schnapps and lemon juice, when we arrived. Corporates and well-heeled locals also filled the banquettes and tables as they perused the menu of creative updates on Greek classics.
Marios Nikidorifidis has curated an international wine list, including a 1962 Grange Hermitage for $5,280. But for most patrons, M.I.M offers a great introduction to modern Greek wines that reflect the country’s winemaking sea change of the past 30 years. I chose a malagousia from Karditsa, an aromatic wine reminiscent of sauvignon blanc. We started with pita bread – one of the best versions I have ever eaten – and tarama (salted cod roe) and tirokafteri (spicy feta and pepper) dips, which also met the same high standard. Sheftalia (Greek sausages), have become a major trend in modern Greek eateries and there was nothing homespun about the taste or texture of M.I.M’s juicy interpretation.
The Greeks are celebrated meat eaters, but restaurants have to cater to vegetarian tastes these days. M.I.M comes up trumps with its truffle moussaka – Portobello mushroom ragu, eggplant, truffle and kasseri cheese cooked in an individual dish. Other mains included scallop manti, Greek dumplings stuffed with scallop and ricotta, giouvetsi, red wine braised beef cheek, honey-roasted pearl onions and kritharaki, the Aegean take on orzo, the rice-shaped Italian pasta.
Forget about a slab of barramundi artfully placed on a white plate. At M.I.M, one of Australia’s finest eating fish comes plated in vine leaves, seasoned with herbs and dressed in ladolemono – a drizzle of fruity olive oil piqued with lemon. Lamb is the national meat in Greece and here you can indulge in an old favourite expertly cooked – slow roast lamb shoulder with tzatziki.
Sydney has spawned an amazing lineup of modern Greek restaurants over the past couple of years from Ploos to Eros in Potts Point and Topikos in Bondi. Nearly all of them have upgraded the traditional Greek dessert pie – galaktoboureko. M.I.M goes above and beyond with its galaktoboureko cannoli – tubes of filo pastry filled with semolina custard and topped with mastic gelato. The other must-try for sweet tooths is the baklava ice-cream – vanilla gelato sandwiched between super flaky walnut baklava pastry.
Upstairs is a mezzanine bar for functions and small and large groups. The service at M.I.M is silkily professional and some dishes are served at the table by the chefs. It also offers a trapezi-style set lunch menu for only $55 during the week. Prices are reasonable for the luxurious setting and central city location whether you pop in for an aperitif or the full Mediterranean for dinner.
M.I.M by 1821, 107 Pitt Street, Sydney; phone (02) 8080 7070.

Somer Sivrioglu is the Grand Vizier of Turkish cuisine in Sydney through destination restaurants such as the now-closed Efendy in Balmain, Anason in Barangaroo and Tombik Kebab in Haymarket. He has now gone for the quadrella with Maydanoz, an opulent, gilded eatery, specialising in the plant-based cuisine of western Turkey famed for its lavish use of olive oil.
I’d come here just for the stone-baked bread with pepe saya butter and imam bayildi – literally, the imam swooned – roasted eggplant filled with bullhorn peppers. But other dishes to keep the CBD’s vegetarians coming back for more include brussels sprouts, baba ganoush, pistachio and chilli, haloumi kebabs, honey, sesame and rosemary ash and mum’s spinach and egg yolk, feta, onion and black rice.
For “mixed” tables, Maydanoz also caters for pescatarians with listings such as Murray cod collar kebabs, sumac onion, Ezme salsa and toum. Meat eaters have the option of something they probably haven’t encountered before – sheep’s head wedding soup, yogurt, chickpea and manti parcels. You don’t have to look the animal in the eye, so to speak, the dish is more of a thick, creamy potage studded with dumplings, shredded cheek meat and tongue.
Maydanoz, 50 Carrington Street, Sydney; home (02) 9262 3161.
French is the other national cuisine that has surged back with a vengeance in Sydney. Manon Brasserie is the latest collaboration from Mario Ambrosino (Fratelli Paradiso) and Manny Spinola (Grand Pacific Group), the twosome behind Lola’s Level 1 in Bondi. The setting could have been air-freighted from France – bentwood chairs, leather and velvet banquettes and hanging lights – but the venue is vintage Australian – at the Town Hall end of the iconic Queen Victoria Building.
Spinola has run the QVB’s Tea Rooms for over 25 years. French chef, Thomas Boisellier, helms the ranges and the all-hours venue is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. One of Manon’s main attractions is the 400-bottle wine list, mainly French and curated by gun sommelier, Henry Hunter, so you can pop by for an after-work drink as well.
The menu is unrepentantly French and that’s a good thing. Entrees range from hand-cut beef tartare with pommes gaufrettes to snail meurette – escargots cooked in a red wine and bacon sauce. Keeping it solidly traditional and nostalgic are steak au poivre, canard a l’orange and pan-fried coral trout. A true slice of France that will quench Francophile cravings until your next trip to Paris.
Manon Brasserie, 55/455, George Street, Sydney; phone (02) 9051 2008.