Wilson & Market is the flagship restaurant at the Prahran Market in Melbourne. The eatery includes a ‘hole-in-the wall’ take-away window, a café that extends into the market square, a brasserie and bar.
The restaurant design juxtaposes a contemporary, sophisticated aesthetic against the raw energy and buzz of the daytime marketplace and holds its own as an evening destination brasserie and bar venue.
What was the brief?
The client brief was to create an interior that could accommodate a breakfast and lunch clientele as a light filled café and then transform to an evocative evening venue.
What were the key challenges?
Structurally, the existing tenancy presented some challenges. Very low ceilings and exposed existing services made for a difficult ceiling design and heights.
Conceptually, creating a dining space that could transform throughout the day, and simultaneously be distinct from the market experience and blend seamlessly with its surrounds was key.
What were the solutions?
Inside and out the venue exudes a sense of transparency and connection to the Prahran Market, with the playful design of the ‘tuck-shop’ window for takeaway coffee and the café that spills out into the market square.
The internal experience of the restaurant and bar is more intimate and plays on the theatre of food with an open kitchen, an oyster and rotisserie bar and a marble clad 10 meter ‘white spirits’ bar.
How is the project unique?
Wilson and Market is bustling yet intimate, the interior encourages customers to immerse themselves allowing for a different experience each visit. Diners can expect a farm to table concept where biodynamic ingredients are sourced from small local farms. The inspired food sits beautifully against the crafted interior that evokes a relaxed and memorable experience.
The sophisticated palette of finishes and custom crafted joinery sets the design language, warm finishes of grey stained oak timber joinery, terrazzo and timber floors, soft polished concrete walls offset by the punch of the green tiles and marble.
