The good ol' Marly has bid farewell to its upstairs neighbour Miss Peaches and has welcomed something much quirkier in her place. The Newtown boozer's first floor space is now home to the weird and wonderful Cuckoo — a kooky bar inspired by Germany's alpine resorts.
Venture on up and you'll feel a bit like Alice tumbling into the rabbit hole. Brought to life by hospitality group Solotel with help from International Worldwide (the creatives behind the recently renovated George Hotel, The Duke, The Old Fitz) and Monster Children, Cuckoo is filled with knick-knacks, a lounge room bar pulled straight from your opa's house and constant sounds from the collection of cuckoo clocks adorning the walls. It even has a bouldering wall, so you can really pretend you're climbing up Zugspitze.
The quirkiness is also embraced wholeheartedly by the drinks list, which boasts eight different house-infused schnapps, alongside crafty cococktails such as the cardamom, sour apple and ginger-laced Apfelschorle cocktail ($18) and the Deer's Blood ($18) with gin, Jägermeister, Campari and honey vermouth. Meanwhile, taps are pouring Germanic-style beers from local breweries like Batch and Wayward — try yours in a stein or in the glass shoey the team's calling Das Boot. If you head in during Schnappy Hour — from 5–7pm, Wednesday–Friday — you'll score yourself a glass of house schnapps for just $5 and a selection of cocktails for $15, too.
Sticking with the theme, Cuckoo's food offering is filled with German classics like schnitzels (in chicken, veal and pork varieties), smoked kransky sausage ($8) and spätzle ($8). But, thanks to a fully-stocked condiments station, the house-made pretzels ($12) might just steal the show.
Images: Kitti Gould