Gimlet at Cavendish House - Review - City - Melbourne - The Infatuation

"Prolific restaurateur Andrew McConnell’s most glamorous project is this sprawling, opulent ode to dining of decades past. Sink into one of the heritage-listed 1920s building’s many burgundy leather booths, or sidle up to the central bar for the best martini in the city—at once dry and creamy, paired with three types of olive that complement its changing temperature. Tartare is mixed tableside, oysters pair with seaweed butter, and hulking T-bone steaks are charred over coals. Come any time from midday to midnight, and for any occasion from a big-dog business lunch to a dalliance in a dark corner to a late-night craving for a fancy cheeseburger. Can’t get a table? Try Apollo Inn, a bar with superb snacks, or Supernormal, a longstanding modern Asian diner known for its lobster roll. Both are by the same crew as Gimlet, and both are just up the road. photo credit: Earl Carter" - Ellen Fraser