Darlinghurst’s swank cocktail pad, Eau De Vie was named Gourmet Traveller’s Bar of the Year at the magazine’s 2011 Restaurant Awards on Monday night.

Eau De Vie was nominated alongside Brisbane’s Crosstown Eating House and Perth’s Helvetica, but  managed to pip both these bars at the post to claim this year’s Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards 2011 Bar of Year title. Making waves since opening late January this year, Eau De Vie is also nominated for no less than five awards at this year’s Australian Bar Awards including New Bar of the Year, Bar Team of the Year and Operator of the Year (single venue).

Eau-De-Vie  owner, Sven Almenning, who celebrated his birthday yesterday, commented that it was the best present he could have hoped for.

“To be honest it’s quite a humbling experience to be recognised in the company of Australia’s culinary heavyweights,” said Almenning, “and we’re of course both proud and happy… we’re over the moon about it!”

Pat Nourse, Gourmet Traveller’s chief restaurant critic and features editor, says that the awards and, indeed, the magazine itself are all about celebrating quality.

“We’re not just talking about restaurants and we’re not necessarily talking about places where you have to blow a million bucks, it’s just about being sincere and getting it right,” added Nourse.

Almenning says that receiving early recognition from both Gourmet Traveller readers and the bar trade in the venue’s infancy is a little daunting.

“If the award is about recognising a bar that strives to deliver a great drinking experience, and that takes a restaurant’s approach to service and quality products then I believe our team at Eau-de-Vie does this on par with the best in the industry,” explains Almenning.

Nourse is enitrely convinced that Eau-De-Vie is a worthy recipient.

” It’s a bar where talking to the person who’s making your drink is as much a pleasure as the drink itself. Throw in the x-factor aspects - the bar-behind-a-bar location, the unobtrusive live music, the bottle-keep, Sven’s unparalleled collection of cocktail antiques - and you’ve got a bar that shows every sign of being here for a long time and not just a good time,” concludes Nourse.

Congratulations to Sven & Amber Almenning and the whole Eau De Vie team!