New direction

The latest trends in hospitality design were on display recently at the Eat Drink Design Awards

While food is the cornerstone of any successful establishment, it’s the design that elevates a business above the competition. Whether it’s a restaurant, cafe, bar or even a pop-up in Australia, there are certain up-to-the-minute design elements—warmth, originality, sustainability and theatre—that really pack a punch.

Joint winners of Eat Drink Design Awards’ Best Restaurant: Spice Temple, Melbourne

These days, opulence and flashiness still work in high-end restaurants but many architects and interior designers are embracing a more pared-back approach. Simplicity and a certain cosiness are appearing in cutting-edge spaces, utilising communal tables, soft lighting, an open kitchen and an intimate bar area. According to architectural writer and critic Rachel Hurst, it means that a restaurant feels like a lounge room while a domestic kitchen, filled with the latest gadgets and appliances, is more like a professional restaurant.

Hurst was one of the five judges for the inaugural Eat Drink Design Awards last year, run by Architecture Media, with categories including best restaurant, cafe and bar, as well as best retail and temporary design. Eight winners and 24 high commendations were awarded from a shortlist of 157 projects, and one restaurant—Jimmy Watson’s Wine Bar in Melbourne, designed in 1962 by Robin Boyd and Frederick Romberg—was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Joint winners of Eat Drink Design Awards' Best Restaurant: The Apollo, Sydney

Architecture Media editorial director Cameron Bruhn, who was also one of the judges (along with Hurst, restaurateur Ronnie di Stasio, architect Roger Wood and food writer Jill Dupleix), recognises a more sustainable approach in the restaurant industry. He refers to venues that utilise recycled materials, be it reclaimed timber flooring or recycled bricks that add an industrial edge.

Vegetable and herb gardens, meanwhile, are popping up in both casual cafes and sophisticated restaurants. “Growing your own herbs is a good way to reduce cost and reduce the impact of the planet,” says Bruhn, pointing to establishments that tend gardens such as Sydney’s Balla and Chiswick, Adelaide’s Eden Dining Room & Bar, and Melbourne’s Vue de Monde which scored high commendations for its restaurant and bar, as well as winning the Hospitality Design Award at last year’s Australian Interior Design Awards. Bruhn launched Eat Drink Design Awards last year because “we have such an extraordinary food and design culture in this country”. So successful, in fact, it will take place again this year with nominations opening in May.

When it came to choosing the top gong—the best restaurant design award—the inevitable ‘Sydney versus Melbourne’ battle was a no-brainer. Sydney’s The Apollo, designed by George Livissianis Interior/Architecture and Melbourne’s The Spice Temple, designed by 1:1 Architects, were both so equally outstanding, joint winners was the only solution.

While The Spice Temple is exotic and vibrant, drawing inspiration from street hawker food markets, The Apollo is a juxtaposition of rawness and refinement. Original arched windows are a nod to classical Greek architecture, while cantilevered lamps, bentwood chairs and a soft neutral colour palette provide pure sophistication.

The Apollo’s architect George Livissianis, who also scored a high commendation for the best cafe award for Sydney’s Shortgrain, says that more than just a restaurant’s cuisine is needed to keep a business booming. “Competition demands that the interior ambience is as important as the food and the service,” he points out. “It’s a three-pronged approach and people want a total experience.”

Bruhn expands this theory: “Most successful restaurants and cafes use not just an interior designer or architect, but also a graphic designer or a specialist to create a brand identity.” It means that various elements—such as signage, menu design, logos, business card, uniforms and online presence—are part of the design template.

As Livissianis says, the “whole picture” is required to entice customers. “It’s the form, composition, spatial arrangement and atmosphere.” To achieve this goal, it’s important to get advice from an architect and/or interior designer, as well as other specialists. It’s this philosophy that turned The Apollo into an award-winning, book-ahead establishment.

The Apollo in Sydney's Potts Point—a clever mix of rawness and refinement.

“The Apollo is original and it really has a soul. It also has more depth than the industrial look that’s around these days,” says Livissianis proudly.

Even though it first became a hot ticket more than a decade ago, there are still few design elements that compare to an open kitchen. As Rachel Hurst says, “Kitchens are carefully set up to be like theatrical stages. In some cases, they’re even brought right into the dining space.”

And Bruhn adds, “It not only occurs in high-end venues with a celebrity chef behind the marble slab, but in all sorts of smaller venues.” As an example, he refers to “the hipster barista making coffee”, which he sees as a “theatrical production that engages sight, sound and smell”.

The small bar boom has meant that interior designers have been able to unleash their creativities but according to Bruhn, a nostalgic feel has pervaded, evoking a cosy, sentimental ambience. But for a more daring design aesthetic, pop-up cafes are certainly taking hold. The here-today, gone-tomorrow effect means that more experimental designs have come into play, often topped off by sustainable and recycled materials. Hurst sees this trend continuing for
at least the next two or three years.

While many trends come and go, longevity is still key when it comes to running a restaurant, cafe or bar. Livissianis says quality “classics” always stick around. “Rockpool Bar & Grill [in Sydney] is a good example,” he says, referring to Neil Perry’s restaurant that’s been running for 24 years. “It’s a great space; it’s beyond trend.” But even in a long-lasting establishment, a spruce-up never goes astray. “Spaces need to evolve over their lives, much like the menu having specials. It’s nice having the space tweaked every now and again even if it’s by way of a floral installation or different serving plates or just a change in upholstery.”

Source: Restaurant & Catering Magazine, 6 March 2013