An Adelaide bar was named among the best-designed in the world in this year’s annual Restaurant and Bar Design Awards. The winners were determined by a judging panel of around 50 industry leaders working in design, architecture, hospitality, and lifestyle media, and announced at an event in London in mid-October.
Luma Restaurant and Bar, designed by Melbourne-based architect and design firm Hachem, won ‘Best Overall Bar’, ‘Lighting – Category Winner’ and ‘Best Australia and Pacific Restaurant/Bar’. It’s housed in Adelaide’s The Playford, an MGallery hotel, and is part of the property’s multi-million-dollar refurbishment, unveiled in 2022.
The lobby bar features an art nouveau-inspired design, with an 800-metre, handcrafted sculptural chandelier and an impressive neon light fixture that snakes and swirls across the ceiling. Long tables span across the venue, punctuated by leather-backed booths and panelled white columns.
“Daring and effective,” says judge Ari Kastrati, chief hospitality officer of MGM Resorts International, of Luma. “Modern luxury. Incredible lighting detail.”
Last year, Hachem’s subterranean Melbourne cocktail bar Curious, housed in the W Melbourne Hotel and opened in 2021, took out the world’s best ceiling award at the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards. Four other Melbourne venues won in the 2022 awards, including restaurant Lona Misa in South Yarra, but no spots in the city made the cut this year.
Three Sydney venues won in regional categories this year. Azabu Group’s shabu-shabu restaurant Hanasuki in Chatswood won best standalone venue, the Poernomo brothers’ Koi won best café, and Tsukiyo, inspired by street food in Osaka, won best surface interiors.
“Restaurants and bars are the world’s most creative spaces because they’re rotted in fantasy, escapism and decadence,” said Ben Spriggs, editor of ELLE Decoration UK, one of the judges.
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