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Papi Chulo

Terry Durack
Terry Durack

The Papi Chulo way: seven miles from Sydney and a thousand miles from care.
The Papi Chulo way: seven miles from Sydney and a thousand miles from care.Edwina Pickles

14.5/20

American (US)$$

It's only a matter of time before they rebrand the 6.30pm Manly Ferry out of Circular Quay, the Papi Chulo service. Tipped out on to Manly Pier 30 minutes later, at least a dozen passengers head straight for the door of the Merivale Group's new blockbuster.

One of the hottest new restaurants of 2013 and 2014, having opened on New Year's Eve, it certainly lives up to the slogan devised for Manly by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Co. in the 1940s - seven miles from Sydney, a thousand miles from care. It's a barrel of fun; a veritable circus of smoky, deep-south barbecue, South American spice and tie-on bibs in a party-time setting that mashes up Brazilian cantina, New Orleans bar and Texan smokehouse.

Good smells hook you by the nostrils within metres of the two American-style smokers, the broad wood-fired grill and the Brazilian charcoal rotisserie in the big open kitchen. In Latin America, papi chulo is what the girls who watch the boys who watch the girls go by, call the hottest boys. Here, owner Justin Hemmes has raided his own kitchens for a hot boy team of Ms.G's head chef, Patrick Friesen, and El Loco's Christopher Hogarth, working with wonderboy Dan Hong as executive chef.

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Go-to dish: Papi Chulo BBQ Platter for 2 to 4 people, $86.
Go-to dish: Papi Chulo BBQ Platter for 2 to 4 people, $86.Edwina Pickles

But do not come alone, or even in pairs. You need three to four protein-dependent people with high carb thresholds to do justice to the Papi Chulo BBQ platter ($86). It has the lot - sticky smoked pork ribs, pale swathes of juicy/fatty maple and black-pepper pork belly, a pile of chopped pork, and some hauntingly aromatic Rangers Valley smoked brisket, as well as half a dozen soft, seedy, pull-apart bread rolls and a big bowl of perky house-made pickles. The meat has that deep, soulful tenderness from low, slow cooking, although much of it is slathered with a full-on barbecue sauce that, for me, makes everything it touches taste similarly sweet. Best of the lot, then, is the unsauced brisket, which can also be ordered separately by the slab. Match it with a tangy Vietnamese slaw ($8), dressed without mayo so it's totally refreshing; and curly fries ($9), which are fun to eat in the same way that anything flavourless but crisp and deep-fried is fun to eat.

There's a well curated, meat-friendly wine list from super-somm Franck Moreau, but the crowd is loving Pabst Blue Ribbon beer ($9) and Cravada slushies of cahacha, coconut water and mint ($18) that look like green smoothies but act like cocktails.

Empanadas ($12) are majorly big; the crusty pasty fortress-thick, and the filling cheesy with raclette and wild greens. Marinated then smoked, golden-brown chicken hot wings ($16) are so damn good, it's hard to stop at four or five. Or six. A chippy-choppy kingfish ceviche with chilli, lime and crunchy sweet corn ($17) gets a bit lost; but a spicy, Asian-dressed melon salad ($14) is genius.

Chef Christopher Hogarth (left) and Patrick Friesen at new Manly eatery Papi Chulo.
Chef Christopher Hogarth (left) and Patrick Friesen at new Manly eatery Papi Chulo.Edwina Pickles
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One of the biggest hits isn't meat at all, but a simple grill of butterflied jumbo prawns with sumac salt and shellfish oil ($36) that taste clean and sweet.

A small square of the traditional tre leches (three milk) cake topped with a squirt of whipped cream ($14) is too sweet. Of course it is. I'm beginning to realise that's the point.

It's all too sweet, too big, too sticky and too meaty, but that's not going to stop me or anyone else from eating and drinking too much and having a great time. It's like some new voodoo cuisine, casting its hot, sticky spell over summer. That's the Papi Chulo way, seven miles from Sydney and a thousand miles from care.


THE LOW-DOWN
Best bit:
A table by the window
Worst bit:
A table by the loos
Go-to dish:
Papi Chulo BBQ Platter for 2 to 4 people, $86

Terry Durack is chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and senior reviewer for the Good Food Guide. This rating is based on the Good Food Guide scoring system.

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Terry DurackTerry Durack is the chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and Good Food.

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