‘Want to know what I’m worth? Gavin Rubinstein | WATCH

Talking into Mimi’s, one of Justin Hemmes’ more recent buzz-worthy establishments, it’s hard not to be struck by just how nice everything looks. Set on a corner block, opposite Coogee beach, sunlight streams in from all angles while attractive waitstaff serve attractive dishes to equally attractive patrons. It’s like dining in your favourite Instagram filter.

Speaking of Instagram, there is a fair bit of that happening, too, every second table pausing to post before digging in. The restaurant is renowned for its caviar bumps: black caviar served directly onto the back of your hand, alongside a nip of ice-cold vodka. First, you sip the vodka, then you eat the caviar, and finally, the most crucial step of all, share on social.

Since the restaurant opened in late 2019, social media has been awash with #caviarcontent. If you go to Mimi’s but don’t get the caviar, did you even really go to Mimi’s?

It is undeniably a scene, the kind of place where people-watching is the dish of the day, and you wonder if the crowd is more concerned with whom they might bump into than what’s on the menu. Because it is so Grammable, you may also suspect that Mimi’s prioritises style over substance: if everything looks so good, does it matter how it tastes?

It is perhaps fitting then that Mimi’s is the restaurant picked by Gavin Rubinstein, Sydney’s undisputed pint-sized property prince and the star of Amazon Prime Video’s real estate reality show, Luxe Listings Sydney.

As Australia’s flashiest real estate agent selling luxury properties in the country’s most affluent market – Sydney’s eastern suburbs – Rubinstein is a magnet for conjecture. To some, he is a deal-making genius worthy of all plaudits. To others, well, he is all style, no substance.

Like Mimi’s, Rubinstein presents well. His suit is tailor-made and his shades are expensive, though not as expensive as his watch. “Patek Philippe 5711-R,” says Rubinstein, 34, when I ask about the wrist gear. “I paid 70 for it, but it’s recently been discontinued, so it’s worth a little more.”

For those unfamiliar with Patek Philippe prices, that’s $70,000 not $70. When I ask how much more, Rubinstein instructs me to do my research. Turns out his watch has a current resale value of $500,000.

Welcome to the world of Gavin Rubinstein.

Of course, he’s familiar with the menu, so I leave the ordering to Rubinstein. “We’ll get the caviar to start, and then the rib eye, the snake beans, heirloom tomatoes and the duck leg cigars.”

“I come here a couple of times a month during summer. I love the vibe Justin [Hemmes] creates, he has the Midas touch, from the food to the service. He creates an unrivalled experience – it’s not dissimilar to how I approach real estate.”

In the interest of transparency, a disclaimer: this is not my first time meeting Rubinstein. In December 2020, I profiled him for another publication, and it was here I made the mistake of judging a book by its cover, or in this case, a real estate agent by his Instagram.

At the time, he hadn’t yet been tapped on the shoulder by Amazon, but people were already talking about Rubinstein. Voted Ray White’s top NSW agent based on commission seven times in a row, Rubinstein had just established his own office – The Rubinstein Group – under the Ray White umbrella.

But it wasn’t just his achievements that raised eyebrows – it was Rubinstein’s unorthodox approach. Using social media to market the luxury properties he was selling and himself, Rubinstein ruffled feathers. He hired a documentary crew to shadow his every move and regularly posted highly curated images to Instagram, usually featuring motivational captions such as, “Don’t follow the path, blaze the trail,” or “One step closer than yesterday.”

Real estate agents don’t have the best reputations, to begin with, but going into the interview, I feared I was in for a double whammy: part-time real estate agent, part-time influencer.

Instead, I ended up understanding that while it’s easy to poke fun at Rubinstein’s whole rise-and-grind mentality (and it is easy), you can’t argue with the facts. During the last 12 months, The Rubinstein Group has done more than a billion dollars in sales, with Rubinstein the top-performing principal over the Ray White group across NSW so far this financial year.

“You know better than anyone, what I do and who I am is not for everybody, but I thrive on turning a sceptic into a believer,” says Rubinstein, as our caviar arrives.

I take mine with the obligatory shot of vodka, but Rubinstein abstains, opting for San Pellegrino instead. “I haven’t had a drink in six weeks. I treat my year the same as the NBA players do: they play 82 games a year, and when they’re in season, they don’t drink, they focus on being healthy, staying sharp,” he says.

This is one of several NBA references made during lunch; Rubinstein is a big basketball fan, despite height being one of the few areas he does fall short.

“Please put it on the record – I am not really comparing myself to an NBA player. I’m 5′1, maybe 5′2 if I wear boots,” he jokes. “But I learn a lot from the game.”

Back to the business of defying expectations. “I often meet with clients who spend half an hour with me and then say, ‘You’re so not what I expected,’ and I end up winning their listing. I’m aware of how the traffic moves around me, but I think I’ve got a handle on it.”

He seems to have more than a handle on it, with Rubinstein’s profile (and profits) soaring since he was cast in Amazon Prime Video’s Luxe Listings Sydney. The show is Australia’s offering to the real estate reality TV genre – think Million Dollar Listing or Selling Sunset.

While Prime Video doesn’t reveal viewership numbers, a spokesperson confirmed that season one was the biggest Australian Original on launch for the platform when it premiered last July.

For Rubinstein, the net gains are easier to quantify. “Based on me looking at what leads have come from the show that translates directly into dollars, The Rubinstein Group has seen a 25 to 30 revenue increase since Luxe Listings began,” he says.