Back in September, we introduced you to our personal picks for this years Eat Drink Design awards. Being from Melbourne, we chose the hospitality businesses that we have come to love locally (see our favourites here ) but there were plenty of contenders from all over the nation. There is no shortage of great hospitality design here in Australia. It is a major component of the dining experience and provides a visual definition of what the business represents. A space that is well executed is also a place where people want to linger, socialise and enjoy themselves making design a vital ingredient for overall business success. We are lucky to have such beautiful spaces on offer to us which make eating, drinking, catching up with friends and unwinding such an enjoyable activity to do.

READ | The Art of Placemaking in Hospitality

On November 15th , the official winners were announced for the national competition and here they are, 2017's best bar, restaurant, cafe, retail and identity as determined by the Eat Drink Design jury.

BEST BAR

Dolphin Hotel by George Livissianis

412 Crown Street, Surry Hills 2010

BEST RESTAURANT

Viet Next Door by Genesin Studio

73a Addision Road, Pennington 5013

BEST CAFE

Morris and Heath by RITZ&GHOUGASSIAN

24-48 Old Geelong Rd, Hoppers Crossing 3029

BEST RETAIL

Campos Barangaroo by Woods Bagot

Lobby, Tower 3, International Tower, 300 Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney 2000

BEST IDENTITY

Jackalope Hotel by Fabio Ongarato Design

166 Balnarring Rd, Merricks North 3926

This year's winners showed a common theme of paired back and refined design, honouring the use of natural textures, colours and surfaces. Each one had a calm, neutral colour palette with accents of brass, copper of gold to ass a touch of sophistication. The used of wood and metal combined has been a popular design choice this year and the winners show how well these two materials work together. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners and we can't wait for what the next year brings for hospitality design.

To see more about the awards and see who previous winners were, you can visit the website as well as follow them on Facebook.

Credits - all images sourced from the Eat Drink Design Awards website