The shortlist for the prestigious Restaurant Bar and Design Awards was announced on August 5, with fourteen local venues getting recognition for their impressive fit-outs. Australian venues have previously performed well at the awards and Adelaide bar Luma won Best Overall Bar at the 2023 awards.
New South Wales is well represented, with eight nominations for a diverse range of restaurants, including Poetica, which caught attention for its breezy Cox Architecture design with blond wood, soft furnishings and immense 700-bottle wine cooler and dry-aging fridges. A little further afield, Lulu’s – a hotel bar and restaurant on the NSW South Coast – got a nod for its retro beachy design, and the Five Foot One Design team are up for the Surface Interiors award for their work on the sunny and simply furnished Flour bakery in Carringbah South.
Melbourne’s stunning twin venues Reine and La Rue, designed by Akin Atelier and RBA, made the list (as a single entry) for impressive use of the heritage-listed former Melbourne Stock Exchange building. Amphora,
Pastificio Sandro and Cecconi’s, are all in the running as well.
Queensland and South Australia got a look-in, too. The Wolf, a mid-century-style restaurant-deli designed by Melissa Collison in Brisbane’s CBD, made the cut. Meanwhile in South Australia, a train was shortlisted – or part of one, anyway. The Woods Bagot-designed Gold Premium dining car, featured on famous long-distance trains including The Ghan, Indian Pacific, The Overland and Great Southern, is up for the In Another Space category.
The shortlist was put together by a panel of 38 judges from across the world who work in design, architecture, hospitality and media. The winners will be announced on October 31 in a ceremony at The Hoxton in Barcelona.
Here is the full list of Australian venues that made the shortlist:
New South Wales
Bar Lettera, North Sydney
Charlotte Bar and Bistro, MacMahons Point
Earlwood Hotel Bistro, Earlwood
Flour, Caringbah South
Hurricaine’s Grill & Bar, Sydney
Longshore, Chippendale
Lulu’s, Jamberoo
Poetica, North Sydney
Queensland
The Wolf, Brisbane
South Australia
Gold Premium at Journey Beyond Rail, Adelaide
Victoria
Amphora, Melbourne
Pastificio Sandro, Thornbury
Cecconi’s, Toorak
Reine and La Rue, Melbourne
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