The rending of garments that accompanied the announcement in October that Hot Listed Gerald’s Bar was closing might have seemed like an overreaction. Especially given that the venerated bar is reincarnating in bigger digs just a few blocks north next week.
But as Audrey Shaw – a Gerald’s regular for over a decade and the chef and owner of Carnation Canteen – well understood, the end-of-an-era grief was real.
So when Gerald Diffey contacted her and suggested she might like to take over the space, Shaw says her reaction was “equal measures terror and excitement”.
“Gerald is such a hospitality icon that I would never have put my hand up,” she says. “But when he reached out a couple of months ago and floated the idea, I considered that kind of respect for what we do to be the highest honour and the opportunity to carry on that legacy became more thrilling than scary.”
Shaw plans to open Bar Carnation in the 386 Rathdowne Street site next year. The new bar will reflect her awareness of what to change – and what not to. The dependable seven-nights-a-week opening hours will remain, as will the flexibility of being able to drop in for a quick Martini or a full meal.
The menu will include staples like aperitivo-style snacks, pasta and steak frites while a blackboard list of daily specials will mirror the commitment to seasonality that’s become Carnation Canteen’s calling card.
The footprint of the bar will remain largely intact, too. The biggest change with Bar Carnation will occur in the back room, which will become a bottleshop, complete with marble-topped tasting bench and a six-door fridge.
“We don’t want to mess this up or disappoint people, and the only way to do that is to do things authentically,” says Shaw. “We’re keeping an eye on what came before, but without being afraid to do things our own way too.”
Legacy was something Diffey, who founded the bar 19 years ago and co-owns the business with Mario Di Ienno, was conscious of too.
“It would have been very easy just to flip the business off to someone who’d do something generic,” Diffey says. “But we felt the responsibility to add something to the village that had the same DNA. With Audrey being a friend and a great customer, it seemed like the perfect fit.”
Bar Carnation will open in early 2026