Neon Extravaganza – Yakimono by Russell & George

Yakimono creates a world unto its own. The neon extravaganza by Melbourne architects Russell & George evokes an experience that lands somewhere between the buzzing bustle of downtown Tokyo and the deeply rooted coolness of inner-city Melbourne. It’s sensory overload, and that’s just the way studio Directors Ryan Russell and Byron George intended.

Curvature and circularity are throughlines in the space, with a curved entry façade mirrored by spherical pendant lighting designed by Sphera. Considered luminosity constructs a palpable energy and the dichroic film applied to glass walls only amplifies it, with colour pulsing between custom-made seating and the open kitchen.

It’s sensory overload, and that’s just the way studio Directors Ryan Russell and Byron George intended.

Mirror-finished ripple-patterned polished stainless-steel ceilings give the impression of rainy nights in throbbing Japanese cities and set the mood for sake sipping at the American ash timber-topped bar. Yakimono becomes an izakaya within a film set, where patrons receive a fire-focused culinary experience alongside a dynamic journey to a futuristic underworld.

Softening Japanese-style timber flooring is juxtaposed with the sharpness of neon and minimalist booths producing intimacy in an otherwise cavernous concrete framework. Angles are encouraged, from the vertical timber beans wrapping the main staircase to the seating grid.

Yakimono becomes an izakaya within a film set, where patrons receive a fire-focused culinary experience alongside a dynamic journey to a futuristic underworld.

On one floor, a fire-fed open plan grill enables the craftsmanship of the kitchen to interact directly with the for-purpose functionality of the charged design. Custom backed Ross Didier timber Gunzel stools wrap around the bar, with a direct sightline to the huge selection of sake and spirits. Kanpai!