Mary's is a cult burger and beer bar at 6 Mary Street in Newtown, the rock-and-roll room from Kenny Graham and Jake Smyth that turned a no-frills cheeseburger into a Sydney institution.
The original Newtown room set the template. Dark walls, a heavy soundtrack, and a short menu built around the Mary's burger gave the place its reputation as a burger bar that drinks like a dive.
The burger is the signature. A thin beef patty, a slice of American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a special sauce in a soft bun keeps the formula deliberately plain, and the fried chicken runs it a close second.
Drinks match the food. Cold beer and simple highballs do most of the work, with the emphasis on rounds and volume rather than a long cocktail list.
The brand has grown beyond Newtown. A CBD outlet at 154 Castlereagh Street runs as a stripped-back takeaway counter open daily from 10am to 10pm, which Broadsheet describes as American fast food in its purest form with no seats.
The founders have shaped the wider Sydney scene. Graham and Smyth went on to revive the Lansdowne Hotel in Chippendale, so the Mary's aesthetic now runs across several rooms in the city.
Newtown remains the spiritual home. The 6 Mary Street site sits just off King Street, within easy reach of Newtown station and the surrounding strip of bars, and availability there can vary, so checking ahead is wise.
Who would love it: drinkers who want a great cheeseburger, cold beer, and a loud rock-and-roll room. Who should skip it: anyone after a refined cocktail bar or a quiet dinner, since neither is the point.
The Newtown room helped define a wave of Sydney burger bars that paired American diner food with a bar-first attitude. Its influence shows in the rock soundtrack and the deliberately short menu copied by many that followed.
Beyond the burger and the fried chicken, the menu stays tight, with sides and a few specials rather than a sprawling card. The focus is on doing a small number of things at volume and doing them well.
Mary's sits among the most fun entries on our best after-work bars in Sydney list, and it earns a place in our hidden gem bars in Sydney guide for the Inner West. The wider Sydney bar guide covers the rest of the scene, and night owls often pair a burger here with a round at Frankie's Pizza.
