Since forming in 2020, the fast-growing Duxton Pubs group has been busy buying up venues across the state, including Little Bang Brewery, Saracen’s Head, The Cremorne and The Lion. Later this month it’ll continue to expand its portfolio with a new cocktail lounge – Bar 1854 – that was literally dreamed up by Cremorne venue manager Grace Kelliher.
“I don’t know what movie I’d watched beforehand, but it all came to me in a dream,” Kelliher tells Broadsheet. “We had opened a bar upstairs and it was this really dark, moody experience. I woke up and was like, ‘That seemed really cool!’”
She put together a presentation for the Duxton Pub bosses and the concept was green-lit. Later this month, the former functions space above the Cremorne will become a dimly lit cocktail den named after the building’s year of establishment.
Guests will push past velvet curtains to a moody but playful space with walls plastered in early 20th century comics, Alice in Wonderland wallpaper from London’s House of Hackney, and artwork by Australian sculptor Tan Arlidge and French artist Guillaume Chiron.
“I guess it’s a mixture of all the experiences I’ve had mixed into one,” says Kelliher. “It’s all table service, you can sit down and enjoy the art and quirky wallpaper, and a cigar as well, if that’s what tickles your fancy.
“You’re above a hotel so you can eat a schnitzel downstairs and then go upstairs and finish with a bottle of champagne and caviar.”
Cocktails by beverage director Rashesh Shrestha will include barrel-aged Negronis and Black Manhattans (made with amaro instead of vermouth) plus freezer door Martinis fat-washed in olive oil, which produces a smoother, silkier mouthfeel. There’ll also be a Martini trolley wheeled between tables.
“We’ll take the trolley over to the table and go through all the steps, whether you want it vodka- or gin-based, how dry or wet, what’s your garnish. They can also choose how they want it prepared – so stirred, shaken or thrown,” says Kelliher. “It’s really personalised and all done in front of them.”
The backbar will specialise in whiskies, including Japanese whiskies, Scotch, American bourbon, Mexican whisky, and local stuff from SA’s Cut Hill and Tasmania’s Lark Distillery.
The drinks will be accompanied by a concise menu built for late-night snacking. Think kimchi and brie toasties, karaage chicken, kingfish sashimi, Coffin Bay oysters, and oscietra caviar.
Bar 1854 will open at Level 1, 207 Unley Road, Unley on November 22.
