Bar Monte
At Bar Monte, mid-century Italian nostalgia sets the scene, inviting guests to indulge in the simple pleasures of la dolce vita.
Studio Plenty reimagines the rituals of Italian cafe culture, creating a convivial space in a private laneway in Newstead, Brisbane, reminiscent of a piazza. The project marks a second location for the Bar Monte family, following the original venue in Miami on the Gold Coast, also designed by Studio Plenty. Building on an established relationship, studio director Will Rathgeber carved out a broader role than interiors alone. Together, they shaped decisions across branding, signage and even the menu. “They all contribute to the design of the space,” he says.
Rathgeber describes a design approach he calls “intimate monumentalism”, creating spaces that operate across contrasting scales, balancing a powerful, expansive presence with something more tactile and human.
Rathgeber notes that “the studio’s core principles are based on things that are attributed to architecture”, with proportion, composition and form all clearly at play. Italian Rationalism offered a complementary framework, celebrating structural elements for both their function and aesthetic qualities. Working within an existing framework, the studio embraced inherited conditions, allowing retained elements to inform the design direction. “We don’t have too much design arrogance around it,” Rathgeber says, letting the design evolve naturally.
These principles and sensibilities find their clearest expression in the fabric of the space itself. Overhead, powder-coated steel beams meet an exposed concrete column that gently marks the entry. Sprayed insulation lines the walls, its texture amplified by soft uplighting. At eye level, the bar anchors the room, while fixed banquettes orient the space, their geometric upholstery adding rhythm and repetition. This sense of order is offset by coloured cathedral glass, gloss wall tiles and powder-blue accents.
Rathgeber describes a design approach he calls “intimate monumentalism”, creating spaces that operate across contrasting scales, balancing a powerful, expansive presence with something more tactile and human. It’s felt most clearly in the dining nook, affectionately known in-house as the mahogany room. Wrapped in timber, with a low ceiling and rich burgundy carpet, it becomes a place of retreat while remaining visually connected to the main dining area, allowing the experience to shift between the energy of the larger space and something more personal.
It is a dialogue that continues through the double-height void, where the Big Glow pendant by Studio Truly Truly tempers the scale overhead. Inspired by the contrast between Australia’s bright sunlight and the soft glow of European interiors, its presence feels entirely at home within the Italian sensibility of the space. As Rathgeber says: “Things which break up that volume… create intimacy within that larger space.” Here, the light does exactly that – capturing everything Bar Monte is about: the grand and the gentle, the communal and the intimate, as well as a sense of welcome from the moment you walk in.
