Crown Melbourne has re-launced its premium buffet restaurant, Conservatory. Located on level one of Crown Towers, the luxurious restaurant is at once welcoming, inviting and features expansive views of Melbourne’s Yarra River.

Boasting a breath-taking design by leading Sydney-based architect and interior designer, Blainey North, Conservatory makes guests feel like they have been instantly transported to London, Shanghai or New York during an era when craftsmanship and materials were revered and buildings and interiors were designed to endure and built to last.

There are four distinct areas in which to dine at the 190 seat Conservatory, including a small collection of tables assembled close to the antipasto, seafood, salad and cheese selections, an intimate area near the bar and two larger dining areas. White marble floors, bespoke chandeliers, a distinctive woven timber ceiling, custom-made carpets, generous chairs and tables, solid, locally made steel screens and dramatic reflective surfaces combine to create a lavish and engaging space in which to dine.

The restaurant is flanked at either end with floor to ceiling mirrors, which teamed with double-height windows overlooking the Yarra River create a natural light-filled and spacious environment.

Conservatory predominantly features a palette of green and stark white. In the open-plan kitchen custom-made spice jars hang on walls and hundreds of red mosaic tiles inspired by Victorian fenestration are used to theatrical effect.

“Conservatory is reminiscent of English conservatories and references Georgian grandeur and Art Deco detailing. By employing traditional craftsmanship techniques, such as the marble panel detailing used on the restaurant’s pillars, we’ve aimed to create a sense of timeless permanence and make guests feel comfortable,” comments interior designer, Blainey North.

“By adopting century-old techniques set in a modern context, such as the use of traditional fluted details on the bar or the restaurant’s solid metal screens, along with the repetitive use of a soft arch formation, it’s a true mix of French-Deco industria and old world decadence. I’m particularly fond of the chairs, they’re largely influenced by luxury sports cars and feature Armani Casa fabric in red, gold or green with white leather perforated with tiny pin dots,” says North.

“It’s the first time we’ve experimented with translating a graphic form and making it into a repetitive architectural detail. The inter-secting arch motif features on everything from the chandeliers to the chairs, tables and wall hangings,” adds North.

Pairing an exquisite setting with an inventive and new approach to traditional buffets, Conservatory is destined to set a new benchmark in buffet-style dining