Bar Familiar

For 17 years, Cam’s Kiosk was a fixture at Abbotsford Convent. When it suddenly closed, long-time colleagues Alessia Augello and Stephanie Lane found themselves at a crossroads. The pair had spent about five years working across Cam’s and its sibling venue Julie. Rather than wait to see what would replace Cam’s, they put together a business proposal and approached Abbotsford Convent themselves. Just over a month after they knocked down the first wall, Bar Familiar opened.

Bar Familiar is less about replicating a particular cuisine and more about long lunches, spontaneous drinks, warm service and the feeling there’s nowhere else you particularly need to be. The all-day menu features wine bar-style starters, along with house-made focaccia sandwiches and toasties, and a handful of pastries.

The fit-out embraces much of what was already there, adding bold colour, textured fabrics, natural timber and touches of red velvet. A 1970s Italian upholstered sideboard greets guests at the reworked bar entrance.