Former city jazz den The Basement gets the Mary’s Newtown treatment

Mary’s Underground, a new dive bar from the besties behind the growing Mary’s empire, will breathe new air into the site of the famous jazz bar, The Basement.

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Mary’s Underground, a new dive bar from the besties behind the growing Mary’s empire, will breathe new air into the site of the famous jazz bar, The Basement.

The unabashed rebels of the Sydney food scene, Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham, are now turning their attention to the site of the former Circular Quay jazz and blues den which closed in March.

Norton Burfalo playing at old The Basement nightclub.

Smyth says the current construction zone would be transformed into a two-level bar with echoes of Mary’s Newtown, but on a much larger scale, and the aim is for a May launch.

Food will be a big focus on both levels of Mary’s Underground but the bottom floor will also be a stage for live music with both emerging and established talent in the spotlight.

Kenny Graham and Jake Smyth from Mary's Newtown have taken over the venue formerly known as The Basement and will turn it into Mary's Underground. Picture: John Appleyard

Smyth said the food offering would be Euro-American with the same focus on local and sustainable produce that defines everything under the Mary’s umbrella.

“We want it to be a bit raucous, dark and raw in the Mary’s Newtown spirit,” Smyth said.

“We’ve done the Unicorn and the Landsdowne (Mary’s Pizzeria) a bit differently, though there is a common thread.”

Smyth and Graham met in Edinburgh, Scotland, more than 20 years ago and their shared background in the restaurant trade, together with an anarchistic bend, ignited a fire to forge new ground in the bar scene.

“We didn’t invent the rock ’n’ roll noisy, dive bar but we made it really personal to us,” Smyth said.

He said Mary’s Underground would be priced to give young people a cosy, hide-out; a place of great wine, great food and great music.