Coming soon: Gimlet restaurant is opening a hidden cocktail bar three doors down on Flinders Lane

Snapping up a table at Gimlet at Cavendish House, much-awarded and lauded, requires the kind of manouevres that would test an Olympic-level gymnast. So for those wanting to stroll in for a quick Martini at the bar and half-a-dozen oysters, there's good news.

The team, led by Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann, are working on a yet-to-be-named cocktail bar three clicks along Flinders Lane.

Mini Gimlet will be a much more intimate proposition than its older sibling: just 28 seats, as opposed to 150.

Tucked away in McDonald House, a tall rectangle of a neo-Renaissance building that dates to 1924, the bar won't be modelled on a speakeasy, but will have the same secretive cloak around it.

Despite sitting on the corner of Hosier Lane, the building's imposing grey facade has little street frontage to give away what's inside. ACME, the same Sydney design firm that worked on Gimlet, will be designing the venue.

There will be a focus on cocktails from Gimlet's bar manager Cameron Parish, with head chef Colin Mainds preparing a tight menu of snacks. Given the size of the space, these are likely to be as simple as a plate of sliced jamon, shucked oysters or other low-touch yet top-sourced items.

Manager Shane Lazzo will also have a hand in the bar.

The team have just signed the lease and are now at work on plans; doors are expected to open in winter 2023.

McConnell says he's excited to be working on a new venue, his first since Gimlet, and particularly one that's smaller in scope with shorter timelines. Having the prospect of lockdowns in the rearview mirror is no doubt another cause for celebration.

Ground floor, 165 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, traderhouse.com.au