Client: John Singleton Group
Location: Mount White, NSW, Australia
Type: Commercial Restaurant & Travel Destination
Awards
2019 – Condé Nast Traveller – The Most Beautiful Restaurants in the World
2023 – Condé Nast Traveller – The Most Beautiful Restaurants in the World
Credits
Client: John Singleton Group
Interiors: Michelle Leslie Studio
Architecture: White + Dickson Architects
Photography: Brigid Arnott, Jacs Powell
Venue: Saddles
Saddles is a fine dining establishment located on 28 acres of breathtaking bushland in Mount White on Australia’s Central Coast. The design aesthetic has been inspired by ‘One Last Lunch,’ a painting by Neil Shennen that sits prominently above the fireplace in the restaurant. Depicting a rudimentary Australian outback home, the painting expresses the design intent to create a built environment that integrates into the surrounding landscape and feels as though it has always been there.
Peppered with bespoke elements from the talented hands of local master of saddlery Heath Harris — an artisan saddler who custom made saddle seating for the dining rooms scalloped brass bar — Saddles balances luxury with a layered application of handmade pieces that exude quality workmanship.
“We wanted to create the feeling that the restaurant had been part of the region for a long time. Like a repurposed outback shed, full of local history and local elements”
Exemplifying the intricacy and tactile nature of the materials used in saddle making, alongside a desire to create a highly respected restaurant destination, Saddles draws on a fusion of Australiana inspired colours and materials. Hand tooled metal and leatherwork, brass and indigenous timbers allude to the rich beauty and powerfully heartwarming nature of horses to create an immersive, sophisticated and unforgettable dining experience.
