Gimlet at Cavendish House set to open offshoot bar in Melbourne in winter 2023

Can’t land a table at Gimlet? Don’t worry, the acclaimed Melbourne restaurant is opening a sister venue.

Andrew McConnell’s Gimlet at Cavendish House is opening an offshoot bar in the CBD next winter. Picture: David Caird

Melbourne’s best restaurant Gimlet at Cavendish House is getting a sibling.

Acclaimed chef Andrew McConnell and his wife Jo McGann will open a new bar a few doors down from their Russel St restaurant, on the corner of Flinders and Hosier Lanes, in early winter 2023.

The intimate 28-seater won’t have a kitchen — serving small bites alongside Trader House’s world-class drinks.

“Gimlet is going to have a little sister, a little offshoot, a little 28-seater cocktail bar, and the most exciting thing about this venue... is there is no kitchen,” McConnell said at an intimate Cutler and Co dinner on Wednesday night.

“There will be someone there popping oysters, shucking sea urchin, slicing jamon behind the bar.. and doing really simple things but we are really excited to look at cocktails without distraction of food and we’re really happy with the team we’ve built and how it’s evolved.”

No name has been revealed for the bar, which will move into the street-level space at 165 Flinders Ln, opposite Hazel and Dessous.

Gimlet’s Cameron Parish will lead the drinks program at the new bar. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Gimlet bar boss Cameron Parish and the group’s wine guru Leanne Altmann will lead the drinks program.

Trader House has engaged the same Sydney firm who designed Gimlet to take on the bar project.

The news is the cherry on top of what’s been an exciting year for Trader House.

Gimlet at Cavendish House namedVictoria’s best restaurant in the annual delicious.100 rankings, reviewed by a panel of expert food critics.

The CBD venue also made its surprise debut in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants extended 100-51 rankings — earning McConnell his first nod in the prestigious list in his 20-year career as a chef.

No other Australian restaurant was revealed in the World’s 50 Best top 50 list in 2022.