Griff Pamment to cook at The Loft at Duxton in O'Connor

The Duxton pub in O'Connor is set for a revamp and The Loft, its cocktail bar on the first floor, will turn into a restaurant for three months starting in April. Chef Griff Pamment will be on the pans at the new temporary restaurant, The Loft Bar & Grill. Pamment has recently sold his share in Luxe, the Sydney cafe and bakery outfit, and was formerly culinary director at Bill Granger's company Bill's, overseeing operations in Tokyo, Sydney and London.

Pamment is no stranger to The Duxton - he did consulting work when the pub first opened a few years ago - and says he wants The Loft to be "a nice neighbourhood restaurant or a good quality bar and restaurant".

He's working on the menu at the moment and says it will feature a few different styles of steak, all kept accessible, no crazy $100 Wagyus, and one or two favourites from Luxe such as a decadent-sounding lobster risotto.

"I'll be on the pans upstairs with a couple of the boys from the downstairs kitchen. We'll do a couple of things in that bar and grill model where boys can get a good hearty steak and girls can get a lovely piece of seafood and vegetables," he says.

Pamment is keen to work with Canberra produce and local suppliers (so get in touch if you're out there) and the menu will move from autumn to winter, when the revamp begins. When the renovations are finished there will be a bistro and front bar and a section for takeout downstairs.

Pamment says he's looking forward to spending the next three months in the capital. "You think about places like Lonsdale Street and the number of new places there and Hotel Hotel there's a really great scene here," he says.