Melbourne’s restaurant heart is beating again

Flying in the face of dire predictions of terminal decline following pandemic lockdowns, the CBD is poised for a flood of openings.

Gimlet, Melbourne’s glamorous, Roaring Twenties-style cocktail bar and dining room at Cavendish House. Penny Stephens

Necia WildenContributor

Feb 5, 2021 – 12.00am

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Alejandro Saravia is showing us around his new Gippsland getaway, aka Farmer’s Daughters, a three-level, sleekly modern restaurant just opened in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD.

“See this?” he says, indicating a drinks fridge behind the chef’s table in the main dining room. “So you’ll be sitting up at this smart bar at the top end of town and someone will hand you a tinny of beer. I love that.”