Emilia reviews new Marvel Stadium restaurant
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When you think, a meal at the footy you imagine a beer and a pie, right? Amphora, Friends of Fire and their Wine Room have stepped it up making footy feeds boujee and enjoyable. You wouldn’t have even an inkling that you were sitting in the middle of Gate 2 & 3 at Marvel stadium. On game days you have to get your tickets checked as you enter but other days Friends of Fire is open just as a bar downstairs.
They called in the best of the best for every part of the creation; fit out by the designers of the W hotel, vegan menu items by the imitable Shannon Martinez and Aaron Rodrigues, executive chef at The George on Collin is on meat and fish. They’ve captured the essence of the footy in their staffing too, confident, exuberant managers and servers who know what they’re doing and don’t mind a chat.
Each of the three restaurants has a different vibe and menu. Friends of Fire seats 250 people and has DJ decks outside on game days, a wrap-around bar in the middle, an open kitchen and the menu is elevated pub meals. Upstairs, where we dined, Amphora seats 200 and has velvet booths around the perimeter of the restaurant, lots of space between tables, “fat side of the restaurant” and fine-dining on the menu. When the game starts they have a massive projector with the game on so you can have a glass of red and watch the first bounce. Lastly, there’s The Wine Room that seats 50 and is great for functions.
Downstairs they have three asado grills shipped here from overseas. One for meat, one for fish and one for vegetarian and vegan options. The signature smokiness makes its way through lots of the menu items.
We had a bottle of their house red from Tasmania called Devil(ish) that the waitress described as ‘smashable’ and I quickly knew exactly what she meant. We tucked into a midday Saturday lunch and prepared ourselves for the bottom of the ladder-off between Richmond and North. We could’ve gone back for a couple more bottle by the end of the game…
Like Jack Ginnivan, we started with the ever-divisive, oysters ($6 each). Sydney rock oysters with charred cucumber mignonette, I’m neither a Jack Ginnivan kinda girl nor am I an oyster girl so I outsourced this test to my dad who was impressed at their freshness. I hope Jo Hall and the oysters don’t get into Twitter beef though.
Surprisingly, the Lemon pepper calamari had almost a Napoletana sauce on the side ($22), like Rory Lobb succeeding as a defender, somehow, it worked.
The ultimate crowd pleaser, the Jeremy Cameron of the meal if you might, the Smoked Alabama chicken sat on a corn puree ($28). It was juicy with the kind of smokiness you can get from an open grill.
Only getting better with age, the Tom Hawkins (or Scott Pendelbury for the Magpies who are now only listening to see if I’ll mention one of their players) of the menu is to be shared, the 28 day dry aged ribeye bone in, smoked mushroom sauce($85). Even if you’re not a massive steak eater, (or Cats fan for that matter) it’s one that certainly stands out and looks impressive amongst all the other players. Let’s hope this one doesn’t retire anytime soon.
For the pescatarian at the table the Jacob Weirering came in the form of the Grilled swordfish steak topped with smoked grape agrodolce ($34) (sweet and vinegary sauce).
For a half time pick me up, we went for positive reinforcement from the assistant coach. We headed downstairs to try Friends of Fire’s infamous Campfire brownie ($16), this is the Dustin Martin. Cooked and served in a skillet, topped with torched marshmallows and ice cream, it’s pretty large and it is rich. Don’t argue that this brownie isn’t bloody good, with all the bells and whistles on top, call it Friends of Fires’ Dusty haircut and tatts. You might even get some craning necks around the table looking on jealously that you got it and they didn’t.
Amphora and Friends of Fire brings together the prestige that MCC members think they carry in their back pocket and the top-shelf Melbourne food scene. It’s perfect for a nice lunch before a game or dinner after, bringing your interstate mate to the footy and they actually do a lot of functions (corporate and private) too. They’ve made their menu exceedingly inclusive of different diets; vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten free, etc. so everyone that attends the footy can also eat a worthwhile meal or even just a cocktail at the bar.
Considering the prices of pies and chips at the grounds these days, spend a bit more and make it worth your while. This way you won’t lose half your quickly-cooling chips on the way to your seat.
Amphora
Marvel Stadium Square
Gate 3/740 Bourke St
Docklands VIC 3008