Walk into Grill Americano Sydney and you’re immediately aware you’re moving through something—not just into it. The space unfolds like a runway, a processional corridor where custom terrazzo flows beneath your feet and cobalt velvet banquettes line your periphery. This is hospitality design calibrated for a city that moves fast, where luxury isn’t about lingering—it’s about clarity, precision and a multisensory experience that registers before you consciously understand why.
Samantha Eades, co-founder of Mitchell & Eades, has refined the Melbourne original into something uniquely suited to Sydney. “Grill Americano Sydney is well represented by what Melbourne originally was,” she explains, “but the sheer architecture of this building is unique to Sydney.” The venue sits within the iconic Qantas House, where six-meter ceilings and a glassy facade bring both grandeur and floods of natural light—240 seats of it. The scale alone shifts the tone from intimate to elevated, yet the feeling remains the same: warmth, approachability and the kind of hospitality that works whether you’re perched at the bar pre-theatre or settling in for a celebration.
Eades describes her design philosophy as “design once and design well,” an approach that aligns with Chris Lucas’s vision of building institutions, not trends. “I want people to walk into a place and feel like it’s always been here,” she says. That timelessness is evident in every material choice: Italian marble, black gloss panelling and Nero Marquina marble create a monochromatic base palette punctuated by that striking cobalt blue. It’s Venetian glamour filtered through a New York grill house sensibility—restrained, luxurious and sensory.
The palette isn’t arbitrary. Cobalt reads as both regal and contemporary, a deliberate shift from the expected warmth of brass to the cooler elegance of polished nickel. Custom chandeliers in polished nickel hang overhead, backlit to cast orchestrated shadows across the room. Everything—from the wide-fluted banquettes to the demi-bullnosed edge of the bar—has been designed with a softness that’s comfortable to the eye. “Everything is both conscious and subconscious when we design,” Eades notes. “We design for moments and experiences rather than designing for the space.”
That philosophy manifests in unexpected ways. The oversized mirror at the bar, paired with an expansive drinks display, becomes Eades’ favorite element—not for decoration, but for what it reveals. “You can see the scale of the space, the richness of what’s available, the marble detailing,” she says. It’s a moment of grandeur that feels earned, not imposed. The private dining room, with its soft organic form among structured lines, offers contrast and intimacy. The interplay of matte and gloss surfaces creates visual rhythm throughout.
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What makes Grill Americano Sydney succeed is its multiplicity. It’s a venue that accommodates a quick cocktail, a business lunch, or a special occasion without ever feeling like it’s compromising. That approachability—despite the elevated aesthetic—comes from Eades’ insistence on designing both front and back of house. “If it’s operationally smooth, it impacts the guest experience,” she explains. The white-jacketed staff, the silver service, the carefully considered flow: these aren’t afterthoughts.
This is hospitality design shaped by European sensibilities—where timelessness lives in the detailing, where beveled panels and velvet backing and custom terrazzo aren’t statements but standards. Grill Americano Sydney isn’t a reinvention of the Melbourne landmark; it’s a refinement, an evolution that honors the original while embracing the grandeur and pace of its new city. And in doing so, it quietly sets a new benchmark for what luxury at speed can look like.
