Eat at the Bar

Chef Matt McConnell and front of house pro Jo Gamvros are partners in life and work, having established Bar Lourinha together more than 10 years ago. In that time, their central Melbourne restaurant has established itself as one of a handful of beloved stayers in the city’s competitive restaurant scene.

The seeds were sewn for Bar Lourinha when the couple spent extended period travelling overseas in 1997. They returned to Melbourne determined to open a place that captured some of the magic they had experienced in the Catalonian capital. They describe it as homestyle hospitality, something that typifies a lot of Spanish culture: convivial, warm and giving.

Lourinha actually takes its name from a municipality in Portugal - and Matt says one of the reasons they chose it was that it wasn’t definitively Portuguese or Spanish - hence it offered freedom in the restaurant on the creative side of food, a freedom that it is reflected in their book. Ditto, the idea that the best drinking experiences are accompanied by food: hence, Eat at The Bar.

Matt is one of three McConnell brothers (with Andrew and Sean) who are held in the highest esteem in Australian restaurant circles. Matt is modern classically trained, having spent time as a young chef at one of the most influential small Melbourne restaurants of the 1980s, Tansy’s. He also worked for Jim Berardo and Greg O’Brien at the acclaimed Berardo’s in Noosa, a restaurant that expanded his vision and allowed him to work alongside such greats as Greg Doyle and Martin Boetz.