Town Mouse reveal city wine bar name, and it's Embla

They've spent most of the year canvassing names for their new business. But finally the Town Mouse team is ready for the big reveal.

Stand by for Embla, due to open at 122 Russell Street, Melbourne, in mid-November. The Old Norse equivalent of Eve, it's a name linked to grapevines and fire, which seems about right for a wine bar with a wood oven.

Embla is gradually taking shape in a city building that has variously housed a dentist, a bike shop, a rubber stamp maker and a pizza joint.

Stage one, the wine bar, will have seating for about 60 downstairs, at low and high tables, around a small oak bar and beside the kitchen, which will be equipped with a wood grill and oven, says co-owner Christian McCabe.

Town Mouse chef (and Embla partner) Dave Verheul​ is designing the wine-friendly grazing menu. Head chef Peter Cooksley (ex Brooks, Cumulus Inc.) will send out terrine, charcuterie and cheese, along with heftier wood-grilled dishes that can stand in as mains. In the new year, Embla will open for simple breakfasts.

Stage two, later in 2016, will be a restaurant upstairs.

Embla's wine list will have a strong Australian focus. French natural-wine producer Eric Narioo​ is another partner in the project and his motivation for getting involved, says McCabe, is to push the Australian wine scene along.