Surry Hills in Sydney is known for its many cafés and bars, some dotted along main streets, while others, such as the recently opened Beau, are accessed from a laneway – in this case, Flacks Lane. Designed by Smart Design Studio, the two-part, 200 sq m venue is the brainchild of the Nomad Group, established by Rebecca Yazbek and her life and business partner Al.
Beau Sydney: a bakery and a bar in one
A stone’s throw from the couple’s other restaurant, the Nomad, also in Surry Hills, the Beau sits within an office building designed by SJB. Inheriting a glazed brick façade with a scalloped front window, the brief to Smart Design Studio called for a bakery at the building’s front and a casual bar and dining area to the rear. ‘Rebecca and Al wanted a place where people could start the day by having fresh Manousha and end the day with a glass of wine,’ says architect Arash Engineer, an associate of Smart Design Studio, who worked closely with architect Christina Markham, a director of the practice.
Located at the ground level, both the bakery and the bar share similar design features – including a series of mesh ‘fringes’ suspended across the entire ceiling, caramel-coloured banquette seating and light oak-washed tables and chairs. And while both areas feature polished concrete floors, the bakery at the front is lighter in tone with a stainless-steel kitchen and pale granite counters – as opposed to the darker palette bar, with its black granite and raw steel joinery. Both spaces feature an outlook to the lane’s exposed brick walls and the interior’s rough-finished original walls – even with chunks of bricks missing in some parts. ‘We saw both areas like siblings. There are some similarities, but you can also see the differences. But it was important to create that dialogue between the two,’ says Engineer, who also included outdoor seating along the laneway.
Designed to seat 75 people across the two venues, with a further 50 people spread across the laneway, the Beau is quickly shifting traffic to this part of town. While Smart Design Studio is often associated with art galleries (the White Rabbit Gallery) and high-end bespoke homes in Sydney, this latest venue shows the practice’s skill in delivering fine contemporary spaces that can also be enjoyed for the simple pleasures in life – be it eating, drinking or both.
Beau Sydney is located at 1 Fracks Ln, Surry Hills, beau.sydney
