Gimlet at Cavendish House

There’s a polished, cinematic glamour that feels immediately familiar at Gimlet. It's by prolific restaurateur Andrew McConnell (Marion, Cumulus Inc, Cutler, the Builder's Arms, Supernormal).

Stepping into the elegant dining room on the ground floor of Cavendish House, a Chicago-style 1920s building in the CBD, you could swear this is an institution that’s married grandeur and comfort effortlessly for decades – rather than since 2020.

The design, by Sydney firm Acme make this feel like the kind of place that calls to you to blow off work early and settle into one of the plush burgundy booths with a mid-afternoon martini and a plate of rock oysters (opened to order, served with thinly sliced rye and seaweed butter).

Its classicism recalls the grand hotels of London and New York with soaring ceilings, art deco columns and sentinel rows of champagne bottles. The square central black-and-gold marble bar speaks to the team’s determination that this is a bar first, eatery second.

That doesn’t mean food plays a supporting role, and it never will, so long as the chef who gave us The Lobster Roll and that lamb shoulder is steering the ship (along with head chef Colin Mainds). McConnell’s signature restrained complexity is evident on every Eurocentric plate.

Start by slathering a slice of country sourdough with cultured butter, and opt for the caviar service. Work up to larger plates like cured rainbow trout with cucumber and dill, or the wild garlic tart (with sheep’s milk ricotta and a fried zucchini flower).

The kitchen sports a wood-fired oven, so meats and vegetables roasted over coals feature heavily. Think potatoes roasted with taleggio and sage.

For a drink, try the bright and citrusy take on the bar’s namesake, the Gimlet. It mixes gin, three different types of citrus, a little Moscato and Geraldton wax. Elsewhere there’s an Old Fashioned, and a house Martini made with orange-bergamot bitters.