15-Oct-2008
Press Release - Chophouse Interiors
MEDIA RELEASE
CHOPHOUSE restaurant and bar intrigues Sydney diners with unique design
Sydney, 31 October 2008: On visiting CHOPHOUSE, diners will undoubtedly be captured by the menu and the interior is sure to intrigue. The space has been designed to reflect the dining concept as well as bring to life restaurateur Kingsley Smith’s vision.
While the straight definition of a Chophouse is simply ‘a restaurant that specialises in serving steaks and chops of meat’ the concept as it is known in the United States and now Australia is much more. CHOPHOUSE is a contemporary adaptation of the New York style steakhouse, showcasing Australia’s leading produce and innovations in dining, both on the plate and in the restaurant design.
“I have been travelling to the United States for a number of years and with the quality of meat and produce in Australia it was only natural for us to introduce a concept like this to Australia,” Smith said. “It’s an exciting variation of our Kingsley’s brand sees a contemporary version of the New York style steakhouse, incorporating our own vision of the Chophouse cuisine and dining experience” he said.
Smith’s vision can be described as raw, textured and ‘Australian-Made’ as the former Miltons Restaurant/Johnny Walker Steakhouse at 25 Bligh St took on a major transformation. Whether it is the wooden arches to the ceiling that replicate a rib cage or the cow hide walls in the private dining room, the CHOPHOUSE decor tells many stories where no surface has been left untouched.
Through the manipulation of materials and salvaged architectural elements and furniture, the restaurant is certainly unique. Inspired by the industrial and perhaps even a subtle nod to the rawness of the abattoir, the building’s original substructure has been unearthed. Elements were stripped back to their raw, primitive nature while maintaining a certain edge and sex appeal.
Cast iron and timber are the primary materials, but another world was explored to create a sense of theatre. Exposed iron pipes wrapped in worn, tethered rope, imposing iron chandeliers slung low on chains over a bar of butchers block, marble and hammered steel. Banquettes wrapped in distressed leather, tarnished cleavers hanging precariously from walls lined in recycled timber, well-worn chopping blocks, concrete floors and exposed bulbs.
The moody yet rustic character of CHOPHOUSE is further enhanced by the tobacco stained walls created by a working artist and complemented by the recycled timber with all its imperfections sourced from various parts of Australia, the aged leather and metal sheets with exposed studs that were all hand crafted. Using an Australian blacksmith, all the metal work from the walls, to the light fixtures, to the table edging were all hand and custom made.
