The Navi Team Is Opening A Fiery New Spot In Yarraville

A new venue from the Navi team is coming to the bustling heart of Yarraville. Bar Gabi, from Navi’s Julian Hills and Georgia Roberts, is set to open on Anderson Street in late September.

This fiery younger sibling takes the Navi philosophy and makes it playful. Somewhere you can slide up to the bar for a casual post-work vino or squeeze the crew into cosy banquettes for toasted wattleseed and macadamia whisky sours matched with grilled bites.

“Gabi is a little looser, a little louder, more relaxed, but no less refined,” says Hills. “The village here is booming. We’re really looking forward to being amongst it all.”

This lively 60-seater will have its own power couple for the day-to-day: Navi Beverage Manager Miriam Wahlhütter and her partner, Chef Paul Turner.

Named for Gabija, the Baltic spirit of fire (and Wahlhütter’s grandmother, Gabi), this spot’s fuelled by woodfire with flourishes of native flavour. Diners can look forward to kangaroo sausage with salted egg yolk and betel leaf, aromatic native lemongrass chicken and an oozy grilled brie drizzled with pepperberry honey that’s sure to make our hitlist this year. 

Wahlhütter’s cocktails are, of course, an occasion in themselves. Start with a nostalgic paperbark-smoked tequila sunrise, finish on a sweet note with rum, blood orange and rhubarb topped with blowtorched miso caramel foam. Team vino will find more than enough in the Aus-forward bottles and glass list.

It promises to be a feast for the eyes, too: a 70s-inspired mix of spaces split over two floors with a comfortable, almost domestic vibe that welcomes you in (the work of Finnis Architects). Whether you're bringing the book club or kindling a little spark with your date, you'll feel at home here.

Bar Gabi opens at 21 Anderson St, Yarraville, this September. 

Image: Bar Gabi | Supplied