Michaela Webb is the Creative Director of Studio Round, the strategy-led creative agency behind some of Melbourne’s most notable hospitality experiences. From Gimlet and Apollo Inn to Baker Bleu, Koko Black and more recently Melbourne Place and its rooftop bar, Mid Air, you’ve likely felt Round’s influence without ever knowing it.
Founded in 2002 by Michaela and partner Robert Nudds, the studio has grown to a team of more than 20, working across hotels and hospitality, food and beverage, arts and culture, and mixed-use precincts in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. A passionate Melburnian, Michaela sits on the Board of the Melbourne Art Foundation and the recently reopened Potter Museum of Art.
Here’s how she Melbournes.
From a design perspective, when I’m in cafes, restaurants and bars, the thing I really care about is authenticity. When I’m in a café, restaurant or bar, I’m always looking for an experience that’s authentic to a place – where the whole brand connects. It’s the places aligned through every touchpoint: the identity, the uniforms, the service philosophy, the way the staff talk about food as well as the food itself. These are the places that stay with you long after you’ve finished your meal.
I’d love to see more innovation in sustainable restaurants. Silo, in the UK, is doing this really well at the moment. Joost Bakker started the zero-waste concept in Melbourne, but it just didn’t get enough traction locally. Food sustainability is a really pressing issue, so it would be amazing to see Melbourne lead that global conversation.
My local is Public Wine Shop. I love finding myself on a small table in the centre of the space. You’re surrounded by wine, food is being cooked around you, and records are being played. It feels like you’re in someone’s living room, and I think that’s a sign of a true local. I order the stuffed chicken wings every time.
In the mornings you’ll find me… For a long time, everybody at Round had a different favourite spot for their morning coffee. However, we’ve recently moved into a beautiful new studio in Fitzroy designed by our long-term friends and collaborators, DesignOffice. The kitchen is very much the focal point because food is such a big part of what we do. We’ve got a great coffee machine, so in the morning you’ll find us chatting around the bench.
When I want to show off the city to friends from out of town, I like to take them somewhere like Bar Bellamy if they’re really into their food and drink. The team there are always doing something interesting on the cocktail front. I also love taking people to Etta in Brunswick East. It feels like an upmarket local, and Hannah Green and her team always make me feel very welcome in that space. When you’re entertaining friends, you want to take them to a place that feels like it knows you. Etta has this wonderful warmth that manages to achieve that every time. I’m looking forward to checking out Hannah’s new offering, Daphne, which we’ve been working with her on.
When I want to really go crazy on a fancy meal, I… If I’m going all out, it’s normally a personal milestone or – more often – when we’re entertaining clients. Normally I’d start with cocktails at Apollo Inn (I always order the whisky sour and pickles), then we’d head next door to Gimlet. The wood-fired potatoes with taleggio are incredible. The whole experience is always impressive, but there’s also a subtle invisibility to the service across both venues I really appreciate. It gives you the space to have conversations and spend time together. We have a longstanding relationship with Andrew McConnell and Trader House, and it’s been great to see him and the team at the forefront of Melbourne’s hospitality zeitgeist for so long. They just nail it.
There’s no better value in Melbourne than the Alphington Farmers Market. It’s on every Sunday and the organic produce is amazing. We go every weekend and pick whatever is in season to bring into the studio for the team to use throughout the week. Recently it’s been lots of beautiful mandarins – or we’ll get amazing fresh tomatoes throughout the summer. Locally, Cheaper Buy Miles deserves a mention. They’re one block away from us in Fitzroy and the team are always bringing their latest finds into the studio.
If I could change one thing about eating and drinking here it would be… I feel that Melbourne could benefit from an expansion of support for up and coming restaurateurs and hospitality operators. It can be so hard for emerging talent to get set up, and that can really stifle innovation. Melbourne is celebrated as a world-class food destination. If we want to maintain that reputation globally, we need to nurture the next generation of talent and allow them to take risks and try new things.
But the one thing I hope never changes in Melbourne is … As a community, Melbourne is so supportive of food culture, and I hope that never changes. There’s so much diversity and specialisation in the hospitality landscape, if we think about our Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Ethiopian communities – just to name a few. It’s such a privilege to have so many diverse experiences that are authentically of place, yet all right here in Melbourne. I hope we can always maintain that.
Experience Studio Round’s work at Chadstone’s new food and lifestyle precinct, The Market Pavilion, as well as the recently reopened Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne. Daphne will open in Brunswick East in October. Learn more via round.com.au or follow @studio_round on Instagram.