The Meat & Wine Co to open new ‘African Sky’ venue in Melbourne CBD
Premium steakhouse brand The Meat & Wine Co will open a new flagship restaurant at 88 Collins Street in Melbourne this July, marking its latest (14th Australian venue) milestone in an ongoing evolution of its portfolio and a continued investment in elevating experiential dining in Australia’s hospitality sector.
Construction is underway on the 220-seat restaurant amid a period of strong growth for The Meat & Wine Co and its parent company Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group.
Positioned in the heart of Melbourne's commercial and luxury retail precinct, the new venue represents one of the brand's most significant investments in Victoria and reflects its ongoing confidence in the resilience and continued evolution of premium dining within Australia's CBD markets.
Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group CEO, Ravi Singh, says Collins Street represents a natural next step for The Meat & Wine Co’s Melbourne presence, with the latest flagship continuing the brand’s elevation toward more immersive, design-led and experience-driven dining environments.
"Melbourne remains one of the most sophisticated hospitality markets in the country. The Meat & Wine Co already has a strong presence across Southbank, South Yarra, Chadstone and Hawthorn East.
“The Meat & Wine Co Collins Street will become our first ‘Safari’ design-inspired Melbourne location, which is an exciting milestone for the brand. Our other ‘Safari’ concepts are in Sydney and Perth.
"It's a location that values quality, design, atmosphere and service in equal measure. Collins Street provides an opportunity to bring together all those elements in a location that sits at the intersection of business, culture and tourism.
“Melbourne diners are highly engaged and experience driven. They expect detail in every element, from service to design to provenance. Collins Street will give us the opportunity to meet that expectation at scale, in a location that naturally supports both corporate and celebratory dining," says Mr Singh.
Founded in 2000, The Meat & Wine Co has built its reputation on combining premium Australian produce with influences drawn from South African hospitality traditions, culinary techniques and design language. While best known for its steak offering, the brand’s heritage continues to inform everything from interiors and service philosophy to the broader guest experience.
That heritage will be expressed through a new design concept known as "African Sky", developed by international design studio COOOP.co.
The concept moves beyond conventional restaurant theming, drawing inspiration from the changing colours, textures and atmosphere of African savannah landscapes. At its centre will be a large-scale draped ceiling installation activated through theatrical lighting technology, creating a dynamic twilight effect that shifts throughout the dining room over the course of the day and evening.
COOOP.co Australia principal and creative director, Callie van der Merwe, says the design is intended to create an immersive interpretation of atmosphere, emotion and environment.
"The African Sky concept is about capturing a feeling rather than recreating a place.
"We looked at the way light moves across landscapes, the transition between day and night, and the sense of warmth and connection this creates. The result is a space that changes with its guests and creates a strong sense of atmosphere," says Mr van der Merwe.
The Collins Street project continues a broader design evolution across The Meat & Wine Co portfolio, with recent venues increasingly expressing the brand’s heritage through contemporary architecture, sensory storytelling and immersive dining environments.
The Melbourne flagship will feature multiple private dining rooms reflecting sustained demand for premium corporate dining, client entertaining and celebration-led occasions within the CBD.
Located among major corporate headquarters, luxury hotels and high-end retail destinations, the venue has been designed to accommodate both large-scale gatherings and more intimate dining experiences.
The menu will centre on the brand’s bespoke steak programme, cooked over a proprietary high-temperature grill and finished with its 35-year-old signature basting, with a continued focus on quality, provenance and craft.
Cuts span three provenance tiers - Monte (grass-fed), O’Connor (long grain-fed) and Mayura Station (Wagyu) - alongside the AGED Programme, showcasing extended dry-ageing and butter-aged beef designed to intensify flavour, tenderness and complexity.
Signature highlights include AGED Wagyu Tartare, Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi, Mozambican peri-peri King Prawns, Blackcurrant Kangaroo Skewers, flame-finished Beef and Pork Ribs and Truffle Mac’&’Cheese reinforcing the brand’s identity as the ultimate steakhouse experience defined by flame-grilled cooking.
The offering extends into larger-format sharing plates and classic steakhouse sides, designed for both corporate dining and celebratory occasions, before concluding with a refined dessert selection featuring the signature Chocolate Fondant, that anchors the full guest experience.
The Meat & Wine Co Collins Street is planned to open late-July 2026.
For more information, visit: https://themeatandwineco.com/melbourne-restaurants/collins-st/
