Project Team

design: Eades & Bergman
architects:
AIGP Architects
hospitality consultants:
Hunter Gatherer Group

Photos: Nicole England

The space is quite large but Eades & Bergman didn’t want it to feel too open that you could get lost in the space. It was important to break up the areas to create different dining experiences.

Being predominantly a grill house, they also didn’t want the space to feel too masculine and limit our clientele. You should feel comfortable to drop in for a drink at the bar with a friend, have a business lunch, eat alone yet still have a communal welcoming feeling. An understated entrance that began the journey to our basement restaurant gives it an element of New York City and its cool hideouts.

Eades & Bergman worked with the existing kitchen, reduced the coolroom to create a new entrance to the restaurant. The space lends itself to a linear design with a long bar running most of the length of the restaurant. To differentiate the dining space they used a waiter station to divide the space made from steel, mesh and timber so you still have a sense of connectedness to the other dining areas.

Eades & Bergman have blended newly released product such as tiles from Patricia Urquiola (Urban Edge) with second hand ship lights in the entrance and a Maitre D table from New York City. They still wanted an industrial feel with some clean elements.

Little Hunter features custom lightingby Paul Grummisch for the booth seating, over the second bar and communal table, to give Little Hunter its own individuality.

The space has no natural light so Eades & Bergman were not going to fight that. They created a dark and moody feel yet lightened the ceiling in order not to make it feel too heavy.

Getting all of the mechanical services to fit into the ceiling space was most challenging. Eades & Bergman wanted to keep as much of the old ceiling as possible. Acoustics in a large space is always a challenge and it backs onto the Long Room (the other venue in the building that is accessed from Collins Street). The use of felt was just as much functional as aesthetic.