PROGRAM_ Hospitality
CLIENT_ S.Presland, K.Kozawa
AREA_ 380 SQM
STATUS_ Complete
CONTRACT_ Interior
CREDITS_ Assoc. C.Huang
The client, executive chef Sean Presland’s modern take on sushi is perfect for the place – is there a more culturally specific yet international cuisine? The third shop to opened under the brand, Associate Chen Huang took on an refined, established look and feel based on Japanese influenced joinery techniques, rich timbers, a contrasting palette of highly processed and raw textures, and familiar Japanese decorative motifs. Thanks to their deft touch, Saké’s Melbourne outpost feels more “bespoke” than “rollout,” yet still satisfies the corporate imperative of brand consistency.
Open kitchens are a feature of all Saké fitouts.
In Melbourne, the open kitchen is the throbbing heart of the restaurant: passers-by see the chef’s whites, the (on-brand) red hachimaki headbands and the flash of sushi knives; diners perch at the granite bar, close to the action, but with enough buffer to avoid being drawn into the hustle and bustle; and patrons in the more formal main dining space enjoy the contrast between the brightly lit industry of the work zone and their own softly illuminated mise en scène.
Light is crucial to the fitout’s success.
Directional downlights illuminate table settings, meals and artworks, and highlight textured finishes such as a raw rendered wall, without washing the space with too much indirect light. At night, the restaurant feels dark and intimate, the oak and spotted gum joinery glows, and awareness of spatial boundaries, such as the operable glass wall that opens out to the promenade, and timber screens that delineate private dining areas, dissolve in shadow.
A significant element of the brief was to accommodate pre- and post-show diners from Hamer Hall (double doors from the small sake bar provide direct access) so this sense of theater is a neat fit. Upstairs in the smaller mezzanine dining space the outward view changes from one of pedestrians to that of the city skyline across the Yarra. A gold mesh balustrade, tilted to match the building’s facade, adds another touch of theatrical glamour.