A new wine bar on the cards from the ACME crew

Are two of the most talented women in Australian food and wine involved in a Darlinghurst wine bar backed by the ACME restaurant crew? Buckle up Sydney: word on Darlo eat streets is that Analiese Gregory, the chef who saw her star rise at Quay restaurant before hiking it to Europe to work at Bras then Mugaritz, is teaming with Katrina Birchmeier, former co-owner of Garagistes in Tasmania. Birchmeier has recently returned to Australia after flexing her muscles as a wine expert overseas, operating The Four Horsemen bar in Brooklyn with James Murphy of dance-rock band LCD Soundsystem.

Good Food understands the Darlinghurst site once home to The Passage is targeted for the venture. ACME co-owner Ed Loveday, who closed The Passage in late 2015 after a six-year run, was tight-lipped on talk of the duo rebooting the venue. "At this stage I can't confirm or deny," he says. "We're close to announcing something but my lips are sealed." Loveday confirmed he still held a lease on The Passage's Victoria Street site.

Gregory and Birchmeier couldn't be reached for comment.