By James Wilkinson

Sydney’s Pink Salt restaurant and bar celebrates its third birthday tonight (Apr 15) and the milestone is one that owners Evan Hansimikali and Bella Serventi are not taking lightly.

Pink Salt’s Evan Hansimikali and Bella Serventi

In recent months, Pink Salt Double Bay has transformed into an equal proportioned restaurant and bar, which Hansimikali said has been successful for the venue.

“There has been a lot of success for cocktail lounge bars and the demise of fine dining of late, so we found it was the right way to go for us,” he told SpiceNews.

“We have seen a lot more group bookings especially girls’ birthday parties,” Hansimikali said. “We have a niche, which is the venue being pink, and the larger bar area has meant more and more bookings recently… we have given them something worth going to.”

Twenty-somethings Hansimikali and Serventi first started in the business in 2006, when they launched the first Pink Salt in Manly for the Channel Seven’s television series ‘My Restaurant Rules’. Finishing second did not deter them and several months after the show finished, they opened Pink Salt Double Bay, which has been operating successfully ever since.

“To have come this far is an achievement in itself,” Hansimikali said. “This is a huge milestone for us because it really is tough out there in the market…. so, we must be doing something right.”

Tonight’s birthday celebration has strong support from the liquor industry, with Wild Oats, 42 Below Vodka and G.H. Mumm being three of the major sponsors.

The celebration also comes on the back of Pink Salt’s recent recognition by the Customer Service Institute of Australia – in an industry coup, the venue won the Best Customer Service Award for Hospitality in 2008.