In the age of Instagram, how a venue looks is often given equal billing to its food, drinks and service. And every year, a handful of bars, restaurants, cafes and other hospitality spaces are celebrated by the Eat Drink Design Awards, which are given to the best newly designed venues in the country. The winners of the 2024 awards have just been announced, whittled down from a shortlist of 62.
The winners this year are spread across the country and chosen by a jury of industry heavyweights: Di Ritter, jury chair and former Eat Drink Design Awards winner (Ritter sadly passed away earlier this month); Greg Lamb, co-founder Hogg & Lamb; Matiya Marovich, principal Sans-Arc Studio; Pat Nourse, creative director Melbourne Food and Wine Festival; and Rebecca Yazbek, co-founder Nomad Group.
Taking out the best bar design award is Sydney’s sultry Bar Besuto, a dimly lit Japanese-inspired basement bar designed by Tom Mark Henry. It's influenced by Japanese noh theatre and has bespoke art and a juxtaposition of cold and warm materials. The jury praised the design for setting “itself apart through its courageous and unconventional approach, presenting an environment that is unpredictable and refreshingly different”.
Gerard’s Bistro, a stalwart of Middle Eastern dining in Brisbane, was awarded best restaurant design for its massive renovation last year. Its look is inspired by Lebanon’s Baalbek temples and it was designed by J.AR Office. Judges called the space “otherworldly” and praised its “three-dimensional and experimental qualities”. They also noted the design’s ability to create various spatial experiences within a traditional restaurant floorplan, and the depth of texture from elements including a rammed earth wall.
The winner of the best cafe design award was Top Tea in Clayton, Melbourne, designed by Wall Architects. It was celebrated for a fit-out that’s both “surprising and whimsical”. It uses concrete and stainless steel, and has a Tetris-inspired extruded grid that is used throughout the space. Judges praised the design’s “remarkable innovation and originality”.
The winner of the best hotel design award is also in Melbourne: the Ritz-Carlton by Bar Studio. Bar Studio was praised for integrating the Ritz-Carlton’s brand identifiers with a distinctively local cultural and artistic appeal, and for creating public spaces that are equal parts luxurious and approachable.
Bosske’s design for Chicho Gelateria and Production Lab in Perth won best retail design for combining the nostalgic playfulness of a traditional scoop shop with a “refined elegance”. Judges said the orange and red space is “rich in charming details” with a “sense of humour” and a functional layout.
Finally, Melbourne French patisserie Madeleine de Proust, designed by Principle Design, was awarded best identity design for its minimalist space with French and Korean influences. The space’s design, as well as its packaging and other collateral, were commended by judges for achieving “a perfect balance between elegance and modernity” and communicating “its message without need for additional explanation”.
Each year a classic hospitality space is entered into the Eat Drink Design Awards Hall of Fame, which honours enduring design in a venue that’s been around for at least 10 years. This year, Sydney institution Berowra Waters Inn, designed by Glenn Murcutt for Tony and Gay Bilson, was added to the hall, joining past hall-of-famers including Bistro Moncur, Pellegrini’s, Cafe Di Stasio and Icebergs. Jury convenor and editor at Architecture Media Cassie Hansen says the venue articulates a specifically Australian vernacular with its sandstone structure and corrugated tin roof, and is one of few Murcutt buildings open to the public.
Judges noted a few running themes in this year’s designs, including an embrace of “otherworldliness and luxuriously dark designs”.
“The jury observed multiple venues where the designers transport guests to somewhere they’ve never been before, whether it is a slightly alien landscape or a new country. The jury delighted in the restaurants, bars and cafes that look far from the traditional and make a big impact,” said Hansen in a statement. “Many venues also moved towards the darkly elegant with intimate interiors and low, discreet lighting that makes the guest feel like they’re in on a secret.”
