The French brasserie’s new sibling, Gigi, is just across Greville Street, with eccentric style and late-night snacks.
“Like a mini Versailles.” That’s how Jason Jones describes his new Eurocentric bar Gigi, which has just joined siblings Entrecote and Hopper Joint on Greville Street in Prahran.
“It’s all escapism and maximalism,” says Jones, who – alongside partner Brahman Perera, a celebrated interior designer – has transformed the former Rufus bar site. Drawing inspiration from the depiction of turn-of-the-century Paris from the 1958 film Gigi, it’s a fitting companion for the couple’s French brasserie Entrecote, right across the road.
Veer off Greville Street, onto a cobblestone laneway and up a nondescript staircase to find the multifaceted Gigi – all moodily candlelit and scattered with fresh red roses. In the main salon, antique crystal chandeliers glisten above hand-painted walls and lace-frilled velvet club chairs.
The slinky gallery bar is flush with oil paintings that Jones has collected on his travels through France. And set above the verdant Grattan Gardens, there’s an al fresco terrace with heating and a striped awning for all-seasons enjoyment.
The original plan for Gigi to be a dedicated champagne bar didn’t come to fruition, but the quintessentially French sparkling remains a centrepiece. They’ll feature a different champagne producer every month, curated by local expert Kyla Kirkpatrick, aka The Champagne Dame. First up: Cedric Mousse’s meunier-forward champagne.
Beyond bubbles, regular and reserve wine lists are bursting with burgundy, for a broad spectrum of budgets. “I want everyone to drink more [of it]!” says Jones.
Like Gigi herself, there’s nothing understated about the cocktails. Even the classics are crafted with creative flair: there’s popcorn-infused whisky in the espresso martini, and a spritz that fobs off the traditional formula, with mandarin liqueur and Cynar.
Snacks also run the gamut from fancy to fun. The former means elegant tuna tartlets, and puck-like potato roesti topped with creme fraiche, Siberian baerii sturgeon caviar and chives. The latter ramps up the nostalgia, including herby toasted chicken sandwiches studded with cornichons and served with tiny bottles of Tabasco, and party-sized sausage rolls made to Jones’s mum’s recipe. Bonus: the kitchen is open until about 12.30am.
But that’s not the only late-night lure. Jones is next week launching a “hospo hour” from 11pm to midnight, when he’s rewarding those staffing Melbourne’s restaurants and bars with cheap drinks: house wines are $9 and the signature Gigi cocktail is $16.
Open Wed-Sun 5pm-1am
Level 1, 143 Greville Street, Prahran, gigimelbourne.com.au
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