Universal Foodservice Designs had the privilege to design all the foodservice and beverage areas for the stunning Reine & La Rue Restaurant. Anyone with even the slightest interest in Melbourne’s food and hospitality scene has been talking about Reine & La Rue as of late.

Reine & La Rue is the newest project from the Nomad Group and Chef Jacqui Challinor. It is located on the corner of Collins and Queen Streets in an iconic heritage-listed building from Melbourne’s heyday of the late 1800s. Known to locals as the ANZ building, this site was originally the Stock Exchange when constructed by prominent architect William Pitt over 130 years ago. 

La Rue, a petite eight-seater speak easy wine bar is located off the courtyard, while Reine, the restaurant seats 140 in the Cathedral Room—the pièce de résistance of the building. The dining area has impressive neo-gothic heritage features. This creates experiences of sublime transcendence due to the sheer scale and superior craftsmanship.  Reine has an extended 10 metre bar; a cocktail bar; and a raw oyster bar. In the kitchen, Reine hosts a wood-fired range to offer the best of French gastronomy. Not to mention that the stunning speakeasy beautifully juxtaposes the classic grandeur of the main restaurant.

Although UFD did the design for the project, the equipment installation, including all stainless components, was compiled by Joe Mancuso from Bendex Stainless Steel Fabricators. Williams Refrigeration also worked closely with Bendex Stainless to ensure the appropriate refrigeration was included and extra options such as drawers were positioned in the best areas for efficient workflow.

Reine and La Rue were awarded the New Best Restaurant of 2023 in Victoria and we are so incredibly proud to be apart of this achievement. You can find the link regarding this achievement here HERE. 

Please click HERE to visit our project page to see more of this project.

Visit this link for a video of the project shot by Fortem Media: Reine & La Rue Cinematic Video