11e Cave chases Australia’s best wine bar title and gets an international cocktail gong
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It’s been one of Canberra’s favourite wine bars since it opened in May 2022 and now 11e Cave is in the running as Australia’s best.
11e Cave may be tiny but it packs a big punch. The underground bar à vin situated in an old bank vault under Kingston’s award-winning restaurant Onzieme has not only been announced as a finalist in the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards Wine Bar of the Year category, but it’s also scored an impressive international cocktail gong.
Its bar manager, Brett Nebauer, was recently announced as runner-up in Difford’s Guide Hayman’s The Original Gin 2024 competition which called for the creation of new contemporary classics that could be made anywhere in the world, with easily available ingredients.
His Sloe Scarlet – “a little blackthorn tribute to autumn” made from Hayman’s Sloe Gin, Fino Sherry, Agave syrup, Peychaud’s Bitters, Tempus Fugit Crème de Menthe and Verjuice beat out almost 700 entries from all over the world. He is the only Australian Bartender to make the top 15. Get the recipe.
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Little wonder then that 11e Cave has gained the attention of Gourmet Traveller – editors praising everything from its food and drink to ambience and setting.
“Named for Paris’ grungy-chic 11th arrondissement, this basement wine bar behind an unmarked red door channels the spirit of Parisian cellar bars without succumbing to cliché. The smart wine list, on-theme cocktails and solid snack menu is as much about new Canberra as it is about Old World with the low-ceilinged, candle-lit room creating a clandestine vibe that suggests the ACT, too, is for lovers.”
11e Cave’s recognition follows Onzieme being named Gourmet Traveller ACT Restaurant of the Year 2024. The winners will be announced on Monday 19 August.
Feature image: Lean Timms
