First Look: Saint Malo, Civic’s new multi-venue establishment
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The giant arched wooden doors on London Circuit have been providing a tantalising taste of something big coming to Canberra’s CBD.
But it is not until you walk inside Saint Malo that you understand just how big a venture it actually is.
So without further ado, let us tell you exactly what is in store when hoardings come down and those wooden doors finally swing open to the public in mid-August.
The brainchild of Zoo Bar owner Rulla Bakri—with a heavy dose of interior styling and creative input from Nik Bulum—Saint Malo is a multi-storey restaurant, bar, outdoor garden bar, wedding venue and theatre. It promises to inject a whole new look and feel into the previously windswept walkways around Hobart Place.
Saint Malo ground floor restaurant space
“As soon as you walk in the door the feeling is you have left Canberra behind and arrived somewhere very special,” says Rulla, who has been bringing the project to life for more than a year.
That somewhere special looks different, depending on where you are in Saint Malo.
The high wrought-iron fences and lanterns of the enormous back garden “Gardino” bar feel a little like London, while the main restaurant feels chic and Spanish, as the menu will attest. The main bar, meanwhile, is all white-washed arches evoking a sunny Greek island.
In summer, the doors will fold back to incorporate a large garden bar
One floor up is “Templo”, a hedonistic live music venue that will be perfect for jazz, stand-up, burlesque and drag. Think low seating, dark lighting and intimate performances.
And above that awaits “Rito”, the vast event space, where the scenery changes to oak floors, velvet sofas, oversized pot plants, an enormous brass bar, and imposing dried floral installations from Wiluna Studio hanging from the walls and ceiling. Here is an inner-city wedding venue worth getting hitched in front of 250 of your nearest and dearest.
Rito, the second floor wedding venue with its own brass bar and capacity for 250.
“We can do any sort of event up here but it is really going to be a beautiful space for weddings,” said Rulla.
Having secured food and beverage director Kingson Joseph from overseas assignments in the United Kingdom and India, and chef John Santos, formerly of Pialligo Estate and the exclusive Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley Estate, Rulla says the food will centre around Spanish flavours and shared plates.
And if it is an after-work drink you’re after, well, Saint Malo promises nothing if not true variety.
Rito, the wedding and functions space
Kinson has organised for separate bars—a cocktail bar, a wine and beer bar, and a water bar. Yes, that’s correct, 70 different varieties of water—sparkling, still, flavoured, infused and any way you want it.
There will also be a mid-strength alcohol list for those who want to try a couple of combinations while still saving room for wine with dinner or driving home safely.
Floral installations by Wiluna Studio
In spring and summer, the beautiful garden will be fringed with vines and olive trees, and a small bar cart will operate specialty drinks near the bubbling fountain (and that’s an image we need to cling on to as we endure the coming winter).
The entire corner block off London Circuit has been completely transformed and will eventually hold space for 990 patrons. We told you it was quite something.
The view as you walk through the front door of Saint Malo
But with finishing touches continuing to be put on the space, we have to wait until August until we can wander those sunny terrazzo tiles and take out a curved booth of Greek goodness for a long lunch or dinner.
Good things are worth waiting for, right?
