New Captain at Galley Room’s Helm (video)

By Sacha Delfosse

The Galley Room, located on level one of the Waterside Hotel in Melbourne, has seen a few changes recently, most notably the appointment of a new bar manager.

Former Gingerboy bar manager, Paul Ramsay has taken over from Jason Williams, who moved to Sydney to take a role with the Keystone Hospitality Group.

Ramsay brings with him several years of experience in the local and UK hospitality industry.

Apart from a new bar manager, The Galley Room also celebrated its first birthday last month and unveiled a new cocktail list, as well as launching a new regular night called ‘Speakeasy Saturdays’.

“We do speakeasy Saturdays, with a resident DJ playing jazz, funk and soul, it really fits the style of the venue,” Ramsay told TheShout.

“I guess we are aiming for the 25 plus crowd with a disposable income who want to go out and spend money on quality drinks and have a good time but also to sit down and talk to their friends and hear the conversations without having to be bombarded with loud music.”

The Galley Room’s latest cocktail list is one of four the venue does each year, with each new one focussing on the seasonal flavours and ingredients for that period.

Ramsay also spends up to four hours a week creating homemade juices, purees, syrups, bitters and spirit infusions.

“If we can make it ourselves we will, that’s a big part of what we do here, we do not skimp on quality,” Ramsay said.

Taking over as bar manager has been pretty easy as the bar’s set up and back-of-house operations do not require any changes, Ramsay said, while he only felt the need to add a few new spirits to the strong selection available on the back bar.

“There wasn’t much to change except hiring another bartender, a guy called Enrico Gaddoni. He came to Australia from the Albannach in London and he worked with me at Gingerboy,” Ramsay explained.

“Most nights it’s just me and him here, we only have a back bar when we really need one, but that’s not very often. Because we have worked together in the past we are pretty efficient.”

To watch a short interview with Ramsay, click on the video below.