Are these Australia’s best restaurant interiors of 2024?

This week, the shortlisted hospitality venues in the 2024 Eat Drink Design Awards have been named, revealing Australasia’s best, newly-designed restaurants, cafés, bars, hotels and retail spaces. The 62 shortlisted venues are a roadmap for the must-visit venues across Australia and New Zealand. And today, we’re sharing the top restaurants, because there’s nothing we love more than good food in beautiful surroundings.

Med – Luchetti Krelle (Barton, ACT)

Alfie’s – Tom Mark Henry (Sydney, NSW)

Comedor – Welsh and Major Architects (Newtown, NSW)

Genzo – Cox Architecture with H and E Architects (North Sydney, NSW)

King Clarence – Pascale Gomes-McNabb Design and Jasmax (Sydney, NSW)

Longshore – Like Minds Studio (Chippendale, NSW)

Morena, Sydney – Ewert Leaf (Sydney, NSW)

Poetica Bar and Grill – Cox Architecture (North Sydney, NSW)

The Sanderson – Studio Y (Sydney, NSW)

White Horse – Farago Han Studio (Surry Hills, NSW)

Como Restaurant – CG Design Studio (Brisbane, QLD)

Emme – Alkot Studio (Fortitude Valley, QLD)

Gerard’s – J.AR Office (Fortitude Valley, QLD)

LVN Restaurant at Bird in Hand Winery – Georgie Shepherd Interior Design (Woodside, SA)

Antara 128 – Kerstin Thompson Architects (Melbourne, VIC)

Atria at The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne – Layan (Melbourne, VIC)

Hopper Joint – Brahman Perera (Prahran, VIC)

Orlo – McCluskey Studio and James Klapanis (Collingwood, VIC)

Pincho Disco – Studio Tate (Collingwood, VIC)

Saint Hotel – Telha Clarke (St Kilda, VIC)

Studio Amaro – Bergman and Co (Windsor, VIC)

Canteen Pizza – Studio Gram (Applecross, WA)

Gibney – Rezen Studio (Cottesloe, WA)

Eat Drink Design Awards jury convenor and editor, Cassie Hansen, says: “In a time of extreme economic uncertainty for the industry, celebrating the places where we break bread and convene as a community has never been more important. These shortlisted venues represent the very best newly designed venues in the country and many have common threads that unite them.

“This year the jury applauded the many restaurants, bars and cafes looking far from the traditional and making a big impact with almost an otherwordly design. Patrons can be transported to fantastical destinations when they visit these venues, whether it’s a slightly alien landscape or a new country.”

She added: “The jury observed a move towards dark, moody and intimate interiors in many venues, with low, discreet lighting that makes your dining experience feel very intimate, secret and perhaps a little risqué. In a similar vein of intimacy: sometimes we just want to feel like we’re dining at a very exclusive spot, whether it be your friend’s cool house or a private art gallery. We noted many hospitality interiors this year that feel like this kind of private arena, often helped along by an incredible art collection.”

From hundreds of entries, the Eat Drink Design Awards are shortlisted and eventually awarded by a jury of industry leaders from the hospitality and design sectors. The 2024 jury consists of:

• Di Ritter, jury chair and former Eat Drink Design Awards winner
• Greg Lamb, co-founder, Hogg and Lamb
• Matiya Marovich, principal, Sans-Arc Studio
• Pat Nourse, creative director, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival
• Rebecca Yazbek, co-founder, Nomad Group.

The winners of the Eat Drink Design Awards will be revealed on Friday 1 November 2024 in the Eat Drink Design Awards gallery.