Palette, an ARM Architecture-designed restaurant located at the Gold Coast’s Home of the Arts, has been awarded fourteen points and two Chef Hats by the Australian Good Food Guide (AGFG) earlier this month.
Offering a casual fine-dining experience, Palette is a feast for the senses, with art fully integrated throughout the space.
The restaurant is an intimate space, spanning 140 sqm. Palette forms part of the third instalment of the Home of the Arts masterplan, which has seen a site along the Nerang River in Surfers Paradise transformed into an expansive cultural and landscape precinct earmarked to become one of Australia’s largest regional galleries.
Channelling the forest floor of the Gold Coast rainforest, dark and woody textures set the tone for the space. A clear differentiation to the vividly coloured Voronoi geometry featured amongst the gallery, the restaurant is calm and assured.
A variety of timber finishes line most of Palette’s surfaces, with the floor showcasing a multi directional ceramic timber tile. Extending on the theme of the Voronoi, the ceiling and walls are backlit, with spotted gum fins in the shape of Voronoi cells. Positioned as a defining feature is the half-round spotted gum bar-top, a rustic live-edge slab milled in the 1990’s locally sourced from a farm in regional Queensland.
Touches of green and turquoise further the rainforest aesthetic and punctuate the wooden attributes, with Tanotti green marble table tops and striped, green fabric upholstered seats and banquettes, topped off with warm brass featured in the bar shelves.
“Our goal was to design a unique dining experience that would double as a warm and inviting destination that you would want to return to time and time again. Our design for Palette represents a sanctuary that celebrates the diversity of local produce through its food and wine, but also through the selection of art, finishes and furniture that have been designed into the interior,” says ARM Architecture Principal Amber Stewart.
Palette’s layout offers a diverse experience for guests. Bar and booth seating are both available, with tables of varied sizes and additional sections able to be cordoned off for private dining. Featuring a transparent glass-glazed wall-to-ceiling façade, windows also lift to merge the indoor arena with the outdoor space, with added outdoor seating under the restaurant’s large canopy.
Complementing the design, Palette’s Chef Dayan takes culinary inspiration from HOTA’s exhibition programs to design the menu, influenced by the art and surrounds for a unique opportunity to express creativity through food. To find out more about the restaurant, visit paletterestaurant.com.au.
Image: John Gollings / Supplied
