In the window of an Oxford Street pub is a shrine to a man. There are votive candles, old cocktail shakers, a disembodied red double-breasted jacket, flowers and bottles of tequila. The subject of the shrine is a man known only as el primo Sanchez, for whom the newly refurbished pub is named. El Primo Sanchez is the latest venue from the group behind Maybe Sammy (named Australia’s best bar four years in a row by the World’s 50 Best Bars) and its siblings.

El primo Sanchez literally translates to “cousin Sanchez”, and coming from a hospitality group that’s named its previous four venues after Rat Pack figures with thumb-achingly long Wikipedia pages, it prompts the question: who is this guy?

“This is someone you guys have made up, right?” Broadsheet asks co-owner Martin Hudak, one third of the trio that also includes Vince Lombardo and Stefano Catino. “He’s not real.”

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“Yeah,” he says. “But, he’s kind of real.”

Over the course of our chat Hudak constantly references Sanchez, colouring in the lines of this fictional man. He worked as a bartender on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, he tells me. He fought bulls in Seville. He acted alongside Elvis in Fun in Acapulco. He hung out with Pele at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico City. He’s religious. He respects his grandma. He likes to party. He’s probably banned from a couple of countries. They’ve given him a backstory that would rival Sammy, Frank, Dean and Nancy’s combined.

El Primo Sanchez occupies the former Rose, Shamrock and Thistle site, a 1940s-era pub renamed The Rose in 2022 by new owners Public Hospitality Group (PHG), which also owns neighbouring hotel Oxford House; El Primo Sanchez is a joint venture between PHG and the Maybe Group. The pub’s heritage art deco facade is unchanged, but the polished interior has been entirely redesigned by Tom de Plater, principal architect at PHG.

Orange tiles are abundant – from the walls to the DJ booth – as are Mexican film posters and long-stemmed red roses. There’s a mix of low tables, booth seating and quiet corners – and, categorically, no stools at the bar. “We didn't want to create something [like] Maybe Sammy or Dean and Nancy where you sit and you watch the bartender,” Hudak explains. “This is a taverna… we want people to move around.”

It’s also designed for fun. There’s a pint-sized karaoke room with an enticing “push for tequila” button and a ceiling strung with disco balls and rainbow lights. The ceiling lights can cycle through a plethora of colours, changing the mood of the place with the click of a button.

Cocktails, which were developed with input from the Maybe Group’s Mexican and Latin American staff, includes a creamy, coconut-y Horchata Colada topped with roasted macadamia; a Jaffa-esque Espresso Martini made with aged tequila and coffee liqueur; and the Charro Negro, a take on a Batanga that uses Strangelove smoked cola and replaces the typical tequila with mezcal.

The menu, by Mexican chef Alejandro Huerta (No. 92, Chica Bonita, Mexican Society), features recognisable Mexican dishes that often have a touch of the unconventional or unexpected.

Take the kangaroo Milanese tacos, for example, which are inspired by Huerta’s memories of Mexico City. “There's this late-night shop that sells Milanese tacos,” he tells Broadsheet, “it's actually called Los Milanesos. And what you get there is this beef schnitzel fried and put in a tortilla with an avocado sauce and some chilli and onions.” One dessert, Fresas con Crema (strawberries and cream), is more traditional but still feels nostalgic for the chef. “Almost every mum in Mexico will make that on a weekly basis… I remember my mum making that in a big batch and we would just eat it throughout the week.”

El Primo Sanchez
27 – 33 Oxford Street, Paddington

Hours:
Wed to Sat 4.30pm – late

elprimosanchez.com
@elprimosanchezsydney