Previous SlideNext Slide

Good grief. They’re decrumbing tables in Marrickville these days. One of fine dining’s highest forms of table etiquette – straight out of Carmy’s new Michelin star ambitions in The Bear – is happening in a converted warehouse opposite the workshop that shot-blasted and powder-coated my outdoor table.

Chef Corey Costelloe marks the start of his post-Rockpool life by firing up the grills and dry-ageing the Blackmore wagyu rib-eyes. A formidable talent who’s not afraid of hard work, he has joined forces with Stix Farm’s Dave Allison (whose site it is), former Rockpool Bar & Grill maitre’d Anthony Qalilawa, and chef Owen Okada.

“Old habits die hard,” laughs Qalilawa, waging war with the crumbs armed with folded linen and a small metal tray. I wouldn’t bother, mate. Just embrace the warehouse vibe and let the crumbs fall where they may.

And they will, because the bread rolls are a super-crisp homage to the local Vietnamese bakeries and shatter to the touch.

What was Allison’s Stix Cafe is now a 66-seat dining room, with a huge kitchen, custom-made wood-fired grill and a 12-seat chef’s table behind glass. One long, thick slab of stone forms an impressive bar, and there’s serious glassware on the bare tables, and sharp steak knives with carved olive wood handles commissioned from Portuguese artisan Telmo Roque.

The house commitment to whole beast butchery means the menu is meat-heavy, to use up all the bits and pieces. Four different wagyu butcher’s cuts hail from Ben Blackmore, with the remaining “non-butcher’s” cuts deployed across very cute baby rissoles with onion gravy ($22), and house-made cavatelli in an elegant white (tomato-free) bolognese ($28); high-comfort eating.

A clean, fresh negroni on tap ($21) uses the local Poor Toms Gin, and an entry-level 2023 Giant Steps Pinot Noir/Syrah ($17 glass) from Victoria’s Yarra Valley is vibrant and juicy.

These chefs cook with the end game being flavour, not Instagram.

Soft, loose polenta brings a Venetian vibe to scallops, strips of greenlip abalone and melting pancetta ($32). There’s one fish dish, but while it isn’t token – Costelloe is one of the best fish cooks in town – most people are hitting up the wagyu 9+ marble score cuts, from a juicy bolar blade with Korean barbecue sauce and jalapeno hot sauce ($55) to a mighty 600g rib-eye aged for 42 days ($280).

Handkerchief steak ($52) is a clever way to cook wagyu topside, always a tricky muscle. Finely sliced, it’s glazed in soy, mirin and sake, flash-charred on the grill and swiped with smoked butter and egg yolk. It’s like eating barbecued carpaccio, and it smells insanely good.

Now for a need-to-know: the potato wedges ($18). Brined, boiled and blast-chilled, they’re finally deep-fried to order in wagyu beef fat until crusty and golden, with a soft mousse-like mash inside. Swipe through a bowl of Coppertree Farm creme fraiche pooling with caramelised chili jam, and you can hear yourself eating them.

Order a big green salad ($10) for balance, full of strong organic leaves from Stix Farm in a gutsy mustard vinaigrette.

Head pastry chef Daria Nechiporenko’s eight-layer Russian honey cake ($18) is a delight, the fine lines of honey biscuits softening into the sandwiching dulce de leche and sour cream to become as one.

The food, it must be said, isn’t pretty; unless you’re a big fan of browns and tans. These chefs cook with the end game being flavour, not Instagram. And some of the meatier dishes are no longer hot on arrival; something that will need addressing.

I can’t think of a restaurant quite like 20 Chapel. It has the energy of a no-frills pop-up, but they’re talking seriously about the long game. It’s a fire-driven vehicle for Corey Costelloe’s old-school craft, and a shop window for Blackmore wagyu, with prices that are the talk of the locals.

I’d call it the best steakhouse in Marrickville, but it is quite possibly the only steakhouse in Marrickville. As a crazy mix of local grittiness, Rockpool refinement and steakhouse sizzle, it’s hard to categorise, easy to like, and feels right for its time.