Around the Bars: building bars to become institutions (the Gin Palace edition)
“After all, it's not a monogamous relationship.”
Around the Bars is a new weekly newsletter from Cara Devine, unpacking what’s happening in the best Melbourne bars (and what you can learn from them), sent every Tuesday to your inbox. Sign up here.
We live in a churn and burn world. With our information coming from clickbait headlines, short form videos and memes, instant gratification is the name of the game. Add to that the fact that we’re in a period of fluctuation in the hospitality industry, with nary a week going by without a venue closing down and two more opening, and it's easy to see why our magpie brains are constantly distracted by the glossy and novel.
Through all this though, there are some stalwarts that have held the course and they should be celebrated as much as the newcomers – perhaps even more so. They are the beacons of stability in uncertain times, whose opening hours you have committed to memory and where you know your order as soon as you walk in. These are the venues where memories are kept alive.
I have a friend from Scotland who visited when I first arrived in Melbourne. He now lives in Sydney and came down for another visit almost 10 years after the first. “Can we go back to the bar where I ended up in the bathtub?” he asked me. He was talking about Gin Palace, and yes, we could, because it has endured (although the bathtub, sadly, has not).
Gin Palace’s owner, Ben Luzz, understands. “I think we all enjoy checking out the shiny new thing – after all, it's human nature. I love checking out new bars and restaurants to see what fresh angle someone has brought to Melbourne's laneways. We know our customers check out the new venues too, because after all it's not a monogamous relationship. But the reality is the new kid on the block needs to prove themselves and unfortunately it's sink or swim.
“Our customer base knows we set our bar pretty high with service and individuality of offering so they will compare that to the new venue’s offering, and if it's lacking customers call it out pretty quickly and let us know. I guess it sounds pretty cut throat but that is the lay of the land and why we are literally daily making sure we are striving to be at the top of our game.”
Gin Palace has been around since 1997, a whopping 27 years, with its sister Bar Ampere at its side since 2011. It's fair to say that they were at the forefront of Melbourne’s laneway bar culture, and there is a timelessness about them that Ben says was deliberate.
“Gin Palace was designed in a way to make it feel as though it had been there forever,” he says.
“[With Bar Ampere] we spent time to ensure the facade was made to look as though it was part of the original substation building.”
Gin Palace and Bar Ampere sit outside of fads and trends, while still managing to stay relevant (both ranked in the Boothby Best Bars Victoria Top 50 in 2023). As soon as you head down the stairs at Gin Palace it could be the 1920s, or the 1960s, or 2000 and it doesn’t really matter anyway: the lights are dim, the seats are comfortable and the Martinis are big and cold. It has the knack of making modern day troubles melt away.
This doesn’t mean that they ignore evolving guest preferences. “Back in the day customer requests were big brand orientated or cocktail name orientated,” Ben says. “They would just ask for a Dry Martini, and their only option to modify it was an olive, onion or lemon, shaken or stirred. Today people have become incredibly specific about their spirit of choice, which brand in that category they prefer and the vermouth or mixer they feel is the perfect fit. Of course we are always moving with the times and adapting to customer needs.”
Nowadays the back bar functions as a shrine to juniper where old favourites sit alongside new, waiting for you to discover them. They’ve incorporated lots of local flavour as the homegrown industry has expanded, but if you just want a big, bold London Dry (with no lemon myrtle in sight) you can still get that too.
Gin Palace went through a refurbishment last year. The feel of the venue remains the same, but behind the bar got the facelift it needed to keep up with the ever increasing demand for cocktails. Now, people get the same experience they know and love, but a more efficient edition.
The most important thing, though, is that the philosophy of service hasn't changed, says Ben. “We don't light people's cigarettes anymore, and more and more rarely open wine with the flourish of a waiter's friend, but the underlying belief of service being the core value of hospitality won't be changed with time.”
It's because of this continuity that Gin Palace has remained high on my list of places to take out of town folks – you’re never going to have a bad time there, and that certainty is a rarity. Plus, I can tell them about the time that my accountant friend ended up in the bathtub, or when Trish Brew sat on my lap to pour champagne into my mouth for mine and my now fiancé’s one year anniversary. This is what keeps people coming back, says Ben. “It’s the experiences and memories they have had there. These are stories they pass onto their friends and old staff pass onto new staff. Stories and memories are what makes an institution. That's why we are constantly trying to provide the best nights, every night every week, every month, every year.”
I remember the first Martini I ever had there (Martin Millers Westbourne with Cocchi Americano, wet with an orange twist). It might not be my favourite Martini any more, but ordering it takes me right back to a decade ago, when I was fresh off the plane to Melbourne and excited about the opportunities ahead. It's a part of my story. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, so cheers to the venues that keep it alive.
Around the Bars
- A wild Joey Tai had been spotted popping up at Kura Melbourne every Monday. Her bar programme is called ‘Lai Yi Ge’ (Have Another One) and she’s slinging classics with a Japanese twist, like a Blueberry Azuki Martinez and Smoked Apple Old Fashioneds to compliment a special Omakase menu. Pull up for a Mooncake Martini and take your tastebuds for a treat with the special menu.
- Molli in Abbotsford is the newest addition to the Mulberry Group stable. The extremely talented Kayla Saito is heading up the bar program, so expect plenty of fun fermented drinks – definitely one to check out if you’re in the area.
- Speaking of institutions: Section 8’s sister bar, Ferdydurke, quietly closed its doors earlier this year. But Aster is breathing new life into the space on Tattersall’s Lane with signature cocktails (like a spin on everyone’s nostalgic favourite, the Japanese Slipper), wine and vinyl.
Around the Bars is a new weekly newsletter from Cara Devine, unpacking what’s happening in the best Melbourne bars (and what you can learn from them), sent every Tuesday to your inbox. Sign up here.
Sam Bygrave
