Benchmark Wine Bar, which has been a constant presence on Northbourne Avenue for more than 14 years, has rebranded, with a renewed focus on their food offering.
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If you want to change your focus from being a winebar to being a restaurant, the first step is to get 'wine bar' out of your name, which is exactly what they've done.
Now 65 Northbourne, the restaurant has been given a darker, more modern refresh, with a brand new menu from French head chef, Mathilde Pomies, and a focus on local produce.
The biggest change is the addition of an external espresso bar, facing Rudd Street, which sells takeaway coffees, sandwiches, and danishes, and is open 6.30am-2.30pm Monday to Friday.
For those after a sit-down lunch, there is a menu in the restaurant which will get you out in 30-45 minutes, with dishes all $15-28.
Dinner is a more formal affair, and there are still plenty of wines on offer, ranging from interesting varieties from all over the globe, to plenty grown just up the highway.
Manager Toby Sargent said, "We still have a beautiful wine list, but really we want to focus on the magnificent food that we do. So people can still come and have a glass of wine if they want to at the bar obviously, but hopefully we have more people coming in for dinner.
65 Northbourne is open noon-late Monday to Friday, and for dinner only Saturday.
