Justin Hemmes to open a Felix small bar spin-off

Has Sydney's big bar tsar developed a taste for more diminutive venues?

Justin Hemmes has lodged a development application with the City of Sydney to birth a sibling for his Felix restaurant, a neighbouring small bar which will also be called Felix.

Felix Bar will sport a slick interior by Acme & Co, the clever design crew known for their work on The Grounds of Alexandria and its city spin-off.

The Hemmes-owned Merivale group is behind some of the city's biggest venues, but also has a taste for more intimate offerings, tapping the small-venue revolution with its recently opened Bar Topa, the tapas bar with Lauren Murdoch in the kitchen.

Bar Felix, which is just a skip from Bar Topa, has proposed trading hours between 10am and 2am, and hopes to squeeze 100 punters through its doors.