Housed in the majestic and historic, Old Prahran Post Office, Angus and Bon is a Restaurant and Bar that feels like it has always been there. Harking back to the golden age of Steak houses in New York, but with a tailored, contemporary edge.

Armed with the brief, to create an accessible but opulent steak house and bar, reminiscent of the client, Liam Ganley’s, experiences in New York, we set about to create a contemporary take on these traditional venues. Paying homage to the incredible, building that houses it, we wanted the interior to feel perfectly married to the grand exterior. In order to achieve this, and be as sustainable as possible, we retained, preserved, and restored as many of the original features: We kept the wood panelling, with any new timber needed for additional panelling or joinery elements, being painstakingly stained to perfectly match the old. The building’s brickwork, sash windows and brass railings have all been preserved.

A centrepiece bar, with custom carriage way and shelves by Please Please Please, topped with dramatic New York Marble, reminiscent of traditional butcher’s shop, separates the two main areas. The front section is casual with high seats and a lounge bar. A more refined area at the back of the restaurant features tan-leather clam-shaped booths for sumptuous dining.

We believe excellent interior design in hospitality delivers a space that functions efficiently, whilst also creating an escape into another world. Not unlike a good film. In order to achieve this, and enhance our design practice, we are big believers in collaboration with a wide variety of highly skilled artisans. From the wood turners who were able to manufacture the timber planters, table bases and sculptures we designed, to the scenic artist, who painted our site-specific artworks, to the arborist that installed the fully-grown tree and plants.

We also embraced whatever the site had to offer us and encompassed these elements into our design. This added a rich layer to the outcome as well has being a lot less wasteful.

This project was all about quality and detail, to achieve the highest of finishes. The marrying of the old and the new required a unique blend of traditional craftsman skills, such as woodturning, carving and paint finishing, combined with the latest in cutting edge building technologies.