The Charles Grand Brasserie and Bar / COX Architecture + H&E Architects

Text description provided by the architects. Fine food and artfully selected wines are to be enjoyed in spaces as luxurious as they are. With this in mind, COX has transformed the art deco ACA Building at 66 King Street – creating an epicurean playground for three new venues – The Charles Grand Brasserie & Bar. and Tiva. COX Architecture led the interior design, with collaboration on Interior Architecture and site works from H&E Architects. The Charles Grand Brasserie & Bar celebrates city elegance and art deco splendor, with the interiors toasting to life lived well. Downstairs Tiva, a basement lounge that looks to bring back the glory days of sophisticated debauchery. Leading the interiors for each unique space, COX sought to pay homage to the past, while celebrating the future of Sydney’s world-class hospitality scene. Three spaces, each unique in style yet with a coherent consistency of product offerings. European in provenance, they capture layers of food and beverages, serves 21 hours out of the day. 

“Informed. by the conceptual narrative of ” Future Nostalgia”, our design takes cues from the building’s rich heritage, reimagined through a contemporary lens. All three venues, while unique in offering, create an evocative sensorial experience.” COX Design Director, Brooke Lloyd. 

Entering via King Street, patrons are greeted with floating layers of velvet curtains with a dimly lit concierge – curating the arrival experience, whether being guided to the grand brasserie or the bar a vin. The double-height volume of the grand brasseries exudes luxury with bold sweeping banquettes in tibero stone, and an open kitchen to take in the theatrics of the dining experience. Adjacent to the grand brasserie sits the bar a vin, an intimate space with wine bottles lining the window, drawing in intrigued walkers by. The bar a vin complements the grand brasserie, curating the Charles experience. You can start with a glass of wine at the bar, moving to a long lunch in the grand brasseries, and down to the club to end the night. 

The basement lounge, Tiva is accessed, through a separate entrance to juxtapose the classic authenticity of the Charles. As you transcend into the subterranean basement, the space reveals a rough lux character, balancing the exposed layers of structure with slick-crafted elements that are seemingly carved out of the fabric. This exclusive lounge welcomes the voyeur, where voluptuous banquettes frame the central lounge.