Gray and Gray Bread and Wine, the Northcote wine bar with a Georgian menu and a cult dessert, will serve its last diners this month.

Opening in 2021 and closing with several Good Food Guide hats under its belt, the restaurant has burned bright in its short life, creating two dishes firmly etched into Melbourne dining history, its honey cake and its khachapuri, a Georgian bread.

Ultimately, though, owner Boris Portnoy believes that the concept was too left-of-centre for diners, who are perhaps seeking more familiar food as household budgets tighten.

“We’re just not busy,” he says. “Everyone says we’re their favourite place, but I think [Gray and Gray] is not the first thing that comes to their mind.

“Do I think that maybe if we were a Francophile [venue], would we be better off because we’d be less challenging? I wonder.

“Obviously there’s this idea and then there’s the monetary reality of the business. I think maybe it was all too niche.”

Occupying a one-time solicitors’ office next door to Portnoy’s All Are Welcome bakery on High Street, Gray and Gray adopted the name of the former business and played with that identity in its communications and even the fit-out, which retained the vertical blinds synonymous with many offices of the 1970s and ’80s.

The food, though, was totally fresh, amalgamating influences east of the Black Sea, including Georgia, Russia and Armenia. The wine list favoured the low-intervention styles and ancient methods pioneered in countries such as Georgia.

“I have to say I’m really proud of what we’ve done. It’s certainly the only Eastern European restaurant with a hat,” says Portnoy.

In looking for reasons for the restaurant’s closure, he attributed it, in part, to having opened mid-pandemic and being required by law to take reservations.

It proved difficult to shrug off the image of being a special occasion restaurant, rather than the casual wine bar he intended.

“It’s definitely not [closing] because the food sucks and it’s not because the wine offering sucks. I think it’s just categorising us was probably tough for people in their minds.”

The restaurant attracted talented chefs such as Tom Sarafian for pop-ups and events, and its kitchen is currently led by Lily McGrath, who jointly won The Age Good Food Guide 2024’s Young Chef of the Year.

There’s still more than a year left on the lease, but a new restaurant in the space is far from Portnoy’s mind.

“I like to avoid comparisons, always. So perhaps it’s still Bread and Wine, but maybe it’s not a wine bar. Maybe it’s a retail shop. But to be honest, right now, I can’t think about it too much.”

His focus now is on his bakery business, All Are Welcome, which is establishing a production headquarters in Brunswick.

But in future, there may be pop-ups and events in the space, including Portnoy showcasing recipes from his forthcoming book on Georgian food, which is being published in March 2026.

The restaurant’s last service will be February 22.

Open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday

188 High Street, Northcote, breadandwine.com.au