Located in a dowdy, nondescript retail strip in deepest western Melbourne, the delicate battened façade of Hinoak, a Korean gogi-gui or barbecue restaurant, is delightfully at odds with its stodgy neighbours and the first indication of how in the right hands, even a relatively narrow space can be made to feel light and spacious.
Thanks for this lie with Biasol, the Melbourne-based studio responsible for the design of London’s Grind cafés, who took what could have been a cramped, dark space and by working with a restricted palette and replacing the street-facing wall with glass, have created a bright, welcoming restaurant, that puts the focus on the food. This is prepared, traditional gogi-gui style on built-in individual grills, transferring the drama of cooking from kitchen to table-top.
From the Chinese character for ‘fire’ cut into the battening, which continues inside along the gently sloping ceiling and the light grey concrete rendered walls and terrazzo bar panels, to the lime-washed timber flooring, eye-catching over-the-bar bottle rack, backlit wall niche and simple, red vinyl banquette style seating, Hinoak feels like the kind of elegant, sophisticated take on a shikdang or an izakaya that would look at home almost anywhere in northeast Asia.
INFORMATION
Website
ADDRESS
7 Coleman Parade
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Lo Scoglio: an Australian vacation rental with regenerative principlesTucked in Byron Bay’s hinterland, an Italian-style farmhouse presents a modern take on legacy and a nature-filled lifestyle
-
Five influential women hoteliers reflect on the changing face of hospitalityAs women continue to gain ground in the hotel sector, despite still being underrepresented in senior positions, five female moguls share their experiences of the past and projections for the future
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Melbourne Place: ‘an alchemy of colour, texture and personality’Designed by Kennedy Nolan, Melbourne Place is the Australian city’s newest independent hotel, oozing creativity and urban energy
-
All aboard the world’s most luxurious train journeysStay on track with our pick of the most luxurious train journeys around the world, whether in 1920s-style opulence or contemporary chic
-
Six hotels where you’ll find the winter sun this FebruaryFrom intimate seaside inns to lush tropical resorts, here are six Wallpaper*-approved winter sun escapes
-
2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
-
The world’s most enticing new hotel openingsExplore the best new hotels in the world, from the revival of a grande dame in Madrid to the restoration of a gothic beauty in Prague
-
Australian surf culture merges with the charm of the Mediterranean at Il DelfinoIl Delfino, designed by Sheree Commerford, is a restored 1940s seaside inn nestled on the Yamba coastline in Australia
