Melbourne has always had a heated love affair with coffee, and the arrival of Vacation Café in the city’s downtown district, a block east from the stately pile of the Flinders Street Railway Station, will do little to dampen the mood for a good cup of java.
Local design studio Therefore gutted the former Mama Wong’s Chinese restaurant to create a stripped back austere space, the arched doorways and hard plastered walls adding an unexpected monastic vibe. White floor tiles with random pastel-coloured triangle corners and elongated steel joinery finished in pink and blue provide the high ceilinged volume with an intimate scale, while slender Mattiazzi chairs and angular Muller van Severen wall lamps add depth.
The café’s location, meanwhile, makes it a convenient pit-stop for coffee on the way to the nearby Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens, though regulars stop by for a bag of fresh beans, and a side order of wagyu pastrami sandwich spiked with zucchini pickle and mayonnaise to go.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
1 Exhibition Street
-
Hella Jongerius’ ‘Angry Animals’ take a humorous and poignant bite out of the climate crisisAt Salon 94 in New York, Hella Jongerius presents animal ceramics, ‘Bead Tables’ and experimental ‘Textile Studies’ – three series that challenge traditional ideas about function, craft, and narrative
-
A photographic study of a family hi-fi store is a vivid portrait of a small businessFashion photographer Nik Hartley looked behind the scenes at Wilkinson’s Hi-Fi, a longstanding part of its Lancashire community.
-
The Contestant: inside the dark and exploitative beginnings of reality TVClair Titley’s The Contestant examines a sensationalist moment in TV history, before Big Brother meant reality became an accepted part of popular culture
-
The world's most enticing new hotel openingsExplore the best new hotels in the world, from Saltmoore, a chic country retreat in north England, to Palm House, a retro-inspired Florida hotel
-
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
-
Layover in style at Melbourne Airport’s new hotelIbis Styles Melbourne Airport hotel by FK brings together elegant rooms, co-working lounges and leisure facilities in a striking aircraft wing-inspired design
-
Australian heritage meets European grandeur at Copperstone, a New South Wales retreatCopperstone is New South Wales’ answer to the European country estate, and includes a five-bedroom retreat, set in 48 acres
-
Tap into local creativity at The StandardX, MelbourneThe StandardX, Melbourne is the first hotel in The Standard Group's new breed of ‘younger and rebellious’ properties
-
Basq House is the eclectic-cool stay to know in Byron BayDesigned by StudioFAB and Léo Terrando, Basq House reverberates with the Australian town’s laid-back beach culture and artistic spirit
-
Discover Beau Sydney, an intimate two-part restaurant enlivening the city’s lanewaysBeau Sydney dishes up contemporary Australian cuisine, from baked goods to regional wines, amid elegant interiors by Smart Design Studio
-
Inside The Ghan train across Australia, new carriage interiors elevate a classic tripThe Ghan’s new carriage interiors designed by Woods Bagot reimagine modern rail travel for this epic trip between Darwin and Adelaide
