Bar Manager

Côte Basque; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Autonomy with KPIs

Mentorship from beverage leaders

WSET training (Levels 2 & 3)

Staff meals

Mental Health support

Staff discount

Job summary

Côte Basque in Melbourne is seeking a career-focused Bar Manager to lead our bar program with strong leadership and broad spirits knowledge. You will drive profitability, hotel-wide beverage standards, and staff development in a vibrant, guest-focused setting.

You will report to Beverage Manager and Venue Manager, while collaborating with Trader House leadership. This is a long-term, hands-on role on the floor and behind the bar.

Qualifications

• Love for busy restaurant environments and creating remarkable guest experiences.
• Broad spirits knowledge across classic, modern and avant-garde drinks.
• Eye for detail with a drive for development and innovation.
• Effective and adaptable time management and communication skills.
• Strong leadership and people management to support staff development.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the bar program at Côte Basque, ensuring high-quality service and profitability.
• Collaborate with Beverage Manager, Senior Bar Manager and other leaders on service standards and financial targets.
• Manage inventory, training, succession planning, and business development for the bar.
• Mentor and coach the bar team, creating engaging, tasting and training sessions on the floor.

Skills

Guest experience

Leadership

Time management

Communication

Staff development

Job description

Located in the heart of the CBD, down a historic laneway long associated with eating and drinking well, you’ll find Côte Basque - a restaurant inspired by the culture, spirit, and cooking of the rugged Basque coast. Côte Basque is a place for generous food, lively drinks, and thoughtful hospitality. The menu centres on local ingredients from land and sea, with produce-led dishes that are simple in approach yet precise in execution - humble, but elevated.

Côte Basque opened its doors in August 2026, and despite its youth, we’ve already created a team who care deeply about quality, provenance, and creating a genuinely welcoming experience for our guests. This is an opportunity to be part of a new restaurant from the early days - helping shape the culture, standards, and rhythm of a venue that has already become a guest favourite.

About Côte Basque

Located in the heart of the CBD, down a historic laneway long associated with eating and drinking well, you’ll find Côte Basque - a restaurant inspired by the culture, spirit, and cooking of the rugged Basque coast. Côte Basque is a place for generous food, lively drinks, and thoughtful hospitality. The menu centres on local ingredients from land and sea, with produce-led dishes that are simple in approach yet precise in execution - humble, but elevated.

Côte Basque opened its doors in August 2026, and despite its youth, we’ve already created a team who care deeply about quality, provenance, and creating a genuinely welcoming experience for our guests. This is an opportunity to be part of a new restaurant from the early days - helping shape the culture, standards, and rhythm of a venue that has already become a guest favourite.

About the Role

We are seeking a career-focused Bar Manager to help lead our bar program at Côte Basque. This is an opportunity for a professional with strong leadership and financial management skills, and broad spirits and cocktail knowledge to lead a dynamic bar program in our newly established restaurant and bar.

The Bar Manager is responsible for delivering a profitable bar program with a focus on quality and interest. Working collaboratively alongside the Beverage Manager, Senior Bar Manager and other key beverage leaders, you will be responsible for the execution of industry-leading service, meeting financial targets, inventory management, training and succession, and business development. You will report to the Beverage Manager & Venue Manager, with mentoring and support from the wider Trader House management team and Group Beverage Director, Leanne Altmann.

This position is a long‑term engagement and a hands‑on role. You won't be in the office all day - you are on the floor and behind the bar: creating, training, engaging, tasting, and inspiring your team.

What You'll Bring

• A genuine love of the thrill of a busy restaurant and creating remarkable, personalised experiences for our guests.

• A sound, developed palate and broad awareness of classic, modern, and avant‑garde drinks, Australian and international spirits, and emerging trends and techniques.

• An eye for detail and a continual drive for development, improvement, and innovation.

• Effective and adaptable time management and communication skills.

• Strong leadership, mentorship, and people management skills to support and develop staff.

What We Offer

• An empowering and refreshing approach to running restaurants.

• Autonomy, clear KPIs and a mentorship from other beverage leaders.

• Seasonal cocktail changes with innovation and respect for ingredients always kept in mind.

• Responsibility for the ongoing financial success of your department.

• The opportunity to work alongside respected industry leaders.

• Unparalleled support and training to recruit and develop the bar team within the demands of a busy venue.

• An attractive salary, group‑wide discounts across all Trader House businesses, and generous tips.

• Access to internal Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Certificates Level 2 & 3 taught by Leanne Altmann, Group Beverage Director.

• Field trips to wineries, distillers, breweries & farms.

• Internal and external management training covering a range of topics.

• Mental Health & Wellbeing support, including access to Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, workshops, and our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) free counselling service.

• Diversity & Inclusivity training and workshops.

• Free flu vaccinations and discounts across external retail, health, and wellbeing organisations.

• Great staff meals every day.

• Job security –Trader House venues have been a leader in Melbourne’s restaurant scene for over a decade, with continued growth and success.

About Trader House

Trader House is a collection of Melbourne and Brisbane’s most distinctive restaurants, bars and speciality food stores, led by chef, author and columnist Andrew McConnell and photographer Jo McGann.

Our Melbourne venues include Gimlet, Côte Basque, Apollo Inn, Cutler, Supernormal, Cumulus Inc., Marion, Builders Arms Hotel, Meatsmith, Morning Market, Stokehouse,Marea Beach House & Bar and Ultramarinos. In Brisbane, you’ll find Supernormal and Bar Miette.

Join a team shaping Australia’s hospitality culture across exceptional venues, each with its own identity and a shared commitment to great food, genuine service and memorable experiences.