First Look: The Reine & La Rue Team Opens Moody Cocktail Bar Privé in Another Historic CBD Building
Words by Haymun Win · Updated on 23 Jul 2026 · Published on 20 Jul 2026
Those familiar with the grandeur of Edition Hospitality’s Reine – the magnificent restaurant in the Cathedral Room of Melbourne’s former stock exchange – might be surprised that its new sibling Privé is designed to be discreet. “Privé is a play on ‘private’ in French, which speaks directly to the atmosphere we wanted to create,” says group CEO Rebecca Yazbek.
Opening on Thursday July 23, Privé sits above the original underground vaults of the former William Pitt-designed Safe Deposit Building on Queen Street. It once stored windfalls of the 19th-century gold rush, “a period often associated with clandestine bars, underground drinking dens and private clubs,” Yazbek says.
The new venue is divided into two distinct spaces. Turn right when you enter, and you’ll find a private dining space with room for up to 40 people that will act as an extension of Reine. Head left and wander into Bar Privé, an intimate 24-seat cocktail bar open to the public.
The bar fit-out harks back to the 1890-built heritage-listed building’s opulent history with details such as natural stones; a handmade artificially aged mirror by local maker Luke Price; Parisian designer Elsa Foulon’s hand-pleated silk pendant lights; and amber-brown sconces from Melbourne sculptor Sarah Nedovic. But the offering itself is more pared back, with just 16 cocktails and a few French-influenced snacks.
“At Reine, you have to compete with the wine, the food, the music and the incredible scenery [so] the drinks are a bit more flashy,” says Felix Woods, a Black Pearl and Above Board alumnus, and Edition Hospitality’s bar manager. “We probably have a bit more complexity in the drinks at Privé, because people have the time to think about them. They’re not there for dinner.”
The drinks, designed by Woods and bar manager Dylan Field (ex-Gimlet), are complex in flavour, but there’s an ethos of simplicity that informs the cocktail list, which centres beverages of just a few ingredients. A Kir Royale – which uses just two ingredients, crème de cassis (French blackcurrant liqueur) and Louis Roederer Collection 246 champagne – embodies this well, Woods says. As does the three-ingredient Albatross, where a base of olive-leaf-infused Four Pillars gin and house-made Cara Cara navel orange cordial is washed with smoked olive oil, then clarified into a silky, citrus-heavy drink with smoky notes.
House Martinis are served between -10 to -16 degrees Celsius. Expect two original creations. Privé’s musky cypress Martini is made with Belvedere vodka and Japanese Hinoki wood bitters, and topped with lemon oil. There’s also a rosé-forward version that blends rosé vermouth, sherry and Cocchi Americano from Piedmont.
Drinks are served alongside a French-style menu from Reine and La Rue executive chef Andy Roche, who says the idea was to keep Reine’s refined finishes while “just making everything snackier”.
Salt-and-vinegar pork scratchings are tossed in French onion seasoning and vinegar powder. Meanwhile, baked almonds get a hit of Basque-grown espelette pepper powder. Deep-fried chickpea fritters are dusted with a vadouvan spice mix, which Roche describes as the French version of curry powder and is also found on Reine’s calamari.
A French dip sandwich is the most substantial snack. It starts with Flour House’s skinny baguette, stuffed with caramelised onions, pickles, cucumbers and ribbons of Mayura Station Wagyu. The meat is brined and cured over eight hours, woodfired until rare and then sliced thinly. French Dijon mustard and raclette tie it all together. End with elegant ile flottante, floating island meringue: marshmallow-soft steamed meringue sits in crème anglaise and rhubarb jam, crowned with a tulle of sugar and pepperberry.
Bar Privé
90 Queen Street, Melbourne
(03) 9021 5241
Hours:
Tue to Sat 4pm–11pm
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