Gracie's idyllic courtyard is one of the more picturesque drinking spots in Melbourne, but the interiors of the Edwardian building it sits in, with its timber bar and hand-painted cartoon flowers, are equally charming. Twenty-five-year-old Gracie's founder Kelsie Gaffey, who went viral on TikTok after documenting the process leading up to the opening of her South Yarra bar, named it after her beloved nana, and it shows in the care and detail. While the food at Gracie's has previously been limited to snacky bites, the team have recently updated to a more "grown up" menu. To the relief of loyal customers, the expanded menu still showcases the famed focaccia, but the beloved snack plate has been upgraded. Ideal for picking at over a bottle of wine, now it's a bountiful mix of cured meats, cheeses, fruit, toast and compote. "We recognise that as we've started to grow up, so have our customers, and we want to keep bringing them on the journey with us. We thought it was about time we changed things up a bit and evolved in our food offering. But we remain who we are at the core: a good-times venue where you can hang with mates, drink approachable vino and not go hungry," says Gaffey. The menu now boasts share plates like tomatoes with mozzarella, fried shallots and salsa verde, tuna tostadas with cucumber, orange, avocado and chilli mayo, and a salumi and pickles plate. Gaffey reflects on the success of the venture thus far, saying, "We showed up authentically ourselves, without the bells and whistles, and we really locked in on how we can continue to improve the art of breaking bread and pouring delicious wine." Speaking of delicious wine, the popular bar now boasts its own 'Gracie's Orange' wine. The wine was created in collaboration with Konpira Maru, who craft small-batch, low-intervention wines. "I've been wanting to create the perfect wine for this moment since we opened Gracie's, and I'm so glad that it's finally here...We originally had a mix of seven different grapes, but then stripped it right back to one hero grape being Viognier. We wanted it to taste, look and feel like a true Gracie's wine. The project embodied everything we are as a venue, and epitomises a labour of love; a team effort. We had our crew involved in refining the taste, with many hands supporting the physical bottling, labelling, corking and packing of each individual bottle," says Gaffey. To keep you warm this winter, Gracie's is serving a Sunday Lasagne Service to fight off the Sunday scaries. The $18 layered creation is made with house-made bolognese sauce and topped off with extra parmesan for a crunch. There's also a gluten-free version for your coeliac mates, and a vegetarian variety with ricotta, pumpkin and sage. "The secret behind our signature Gracie's Lasagnes is time. Our homemade sauce is slow-cooked for a minimum of five hours, allowing the flavours to develop and blend beautifully. This process creates the rich, comforting taste that makes our lasagnes so special. Alongside our classic beef lasagne, we also offer a gluten-free option and a delicious vegetarian alternative featuring pumpkin, sage, and ricotta," says Gracie's Chef Ronan. Images: Jordan Price, Tatum Sfameni and Chege Mbuthi. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox.
