SA design maestro wins international Restaurant & Bar Design award

Design masterpiece conceived by maestro TristanPlessis Studio and Sandton’s latest supper club hot spot Alice & Fifth, has been heralded Best Overall Restaurant at the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards. 

And it’s the first time this coveted award has been bestowed on a South African design studio.

Now in its eleventh year, the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards is a globally recognised competition dedicated to the design of food and beverage spaces. 

Leading industry professionals are awarded prizes for the best work as voted by a panel of internationally recognised judges.

The awards ceremony was attended by over 500 of the world’s best designers and their clients responsible for the design of the most innovative food and beverage spaces. 

Entries from over 70 countries cover every imaginable space; from ships to airports, museums to burger vans, from revered Michelin-starred establishments to the fleeting dynamism of pop-ups.

“As a South African designer to be in the same room as my international design icons is an honour in itself but to be recognised on a global level in front of peers that I’ve looked up to since the beginning of my career is almost unbelievable. It also re-affirms what I believe in: the potential within South African design. Not only can we compete at an international level but also lead the field,” said Tristan Du Plessis.

For each category there were two shortlists and two winners, one winner for UK entries and one winner for international entries. The two overall winners of the 2019 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards were Alice & Fifth designed by TristanPlessisStudio and SPINE Beirut, a bar in Lebanon designed by Gatserelia Design.