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The winners of this year's Eat Drink Design Awards have been announced, with Melbourne venues topping four categories. The awards recognise innovation and excellence in restaurants, bars, cafés, hotels and retail spaces – especially following what has been an immensely challenging two years for the industry.
“If there was an overarching trend across this year’s entries, we can see strong evidence of the restrained and the residential. There was a shift toward more utilitarian materials, creating future-forward spaces that avoid fuss and decoration," said Eat Drink Design Awards chair, Cassie Hansen.
“We have seen a number of once working-class pubs thoughtfully reimagined for a new, gentrified demographic whilst still paying strong homage to its original architectural and community intentions. We also witnessed an Australian renaissance of the hotel restaurant and bar, with especially strong hospitality offerings in Melbourne with the new and district hotels that have emerged since 2019.”
Best Bar Design was awarded to St Kilda's Little Prince Wine by IF Architecture. Melbournes’ Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street by Bates Smart took out Best Hotel Design and the Best Retail and Best Identity Design winners were awarded to Little Prince Wine by IF Architecture and Hazel by One&Other, respectively.
The NGV won the award for Best Installation design for their NGV Triennial 2020 Outdoor Pavilions – an impressive, angular and architectural display of interactive art.
View the full list of national winners, complete with jury citations here.