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.
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Côte Basque opened its doors in August ****, 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.
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About the Role
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We are seeking a career-focused Bar Manager to help lead our bar program at Côte Basque. This is an opportunity for a qualified 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.
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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.
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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.
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What You'll Bring
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A genuine love of the thrill of a busy restaurant and creating remarkable, personalised experiences for our guests.
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A sound, developed palate and broad awareness of classic, modern, and avant-garde drinks, Australian and international spirits, and emerging trends and techniques.
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An eye for detail and a continual drive for development, improvement, and innovation.
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Effective and adaptable time management and communication skills.
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Strong leadership, mentorship, and people management skills to support and develop staff.
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What We Offer
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An empowering and refreshing approach to running restaurants.
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Autonomy, clear KPIs and a mentorship from other beverage leaders.
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Seasonal cocktail changes with innovation and respect for ingredients always kept in mind.
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Responsibility for the ongoing financial success of your department.
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The opportunity to work alongside respected industry leaders.
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Unparalleled support and training to recruit and develop the bar team within the demands of a busy venue.
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An attractive salary, group-wide discounts across all Trader House businesses, and generous tips.
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Access to internal Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Certificates Level 2 & 3 taught by Leanne Altmann, Group Beverage Director.
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Field trips to wineries, distillers, breweries & farms.
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Internal and external management training covering a range of topics.
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Mental Health & Wellbeing support, including access to Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, workshops, and our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) free counselling service.
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Diversity & Inclusivity training and workshops.
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Free flu vaccinations and discounts across external retail, health, and wellbeing organisations.
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Great staff meals every day.
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Job security -Trader House venues have been a leader in Melbourne's restaurant scene for over a decade, with continued growth and success.
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About Trader House
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Trader House is a collection of Melbourne and Brisbane's most distinctive restaurants, bars and specialty food stores, led by chef, author and columnist Andrew McConnell and photographer Jo McGann.
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Our Melbourne venues include Gimlet, Apollo Inn, Cutler, Supernormal, Cumulus Inc., Marion, Builders Arms Hotel, Meatsmith and Morning Market - with Stokehouse, St Kilda joining the group in October ****. In Brisbane, you'll find Supernormal and Bar Miette.
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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.

📌 Bar Manager (Victoria)
🏢 Côte Basque
📍 Victoria