From Espresso to Aperitivo: Reno’s Bistro Is an Energetic Offering For the Adelaide CBD

Reno’s Bistro brings a sense of urban theatre to the ground floor of a revitalised Adelaide CBD commercial tower, with design studio Rads reworking the corporate lobby into a place of warmth, energy and gentle nostalgia

Drawing on the existing scale and brutalist-style architecture of the commercial tower that houses it, Reno’s Bistro bridges an unmet need, acting to bind commuters, those working within the building, and an after-work crowd. The 200-square-metre space adapts to those who use it while retaining its own presence and identity, which was inspired in part by seventies Milan, suburban Australian-Italian delicatessens and early migrant homes. Named after the owner’s father, Reno’s Bistro feels deeply familiar, and that’s no accident.  

The lobby cafe expresses its unique references and identity through glossed wood, chrome accents and sculptural profiles that shape the movement of the room. ‘We wanted to celebrate the pace of the espresso machine,’ says Chris Rowlands, director of Rads, the studio that brought the space to life. ‘There are nods to futurism, but also to the delicatessens many of us grew up around — those interiors held a warmth that felt worth returning to.’

As a third-party operator within a larger commercial precinct, Reno’s Bistro is unusual in Adelaide — intentionally so. Rowlands notes a shift in the way office towers are investing in amenities. ‘There’s a lot of energy going into end-of-trip facilities, but hospitality often sits on the periphery. Here, the aim was to create something genuinely public within the lobby — a venue with its own identity, not just an extension of the building.’

Throughout the space (and subtly hinted at from the glossy and pillowy street sign on the building’s exterior), materiality sets the tone. High-gloss timber reflects a mid-century Italian sensibility, polished steel retains a utilitarian touch, and handmade ceramic tiled walls ground and wrap the kitchen with rich texture. If Reno’s Bistro were a person, Rowlands imagines someone distinctly familiar: ‘A classic Italian host — they know your name, ask about your weekend. The back-of-house is loud. There’s something welcoming and familiar, even if you can’t quite name why.’

With the shifting sun animating the space through a generous, newly integrated glass facade — as part of the larger building redesign by Studio Nine — light shifts across surfaces, allowing the palette to transition from an energised start in the morning, to a more intimate setting at night. Intentionally, it’s a cafe that is comfortable resisting the usual temporal limits of hospitality — espresso in the morning, aperitivo in the evening — rather, it’s a venue consistently in motion.

The space itself is comprised of differing functions and thresholds, which needed to be considered as part of the core workings of the space. ‘There are two modes to manage,’ Rowlands explains. ‘The fast-paced grab-and-go from the street, and the quieter spaces inside the lobby.’ The street-facing counter acts as an invitation, drawing pedestrians inward, while the interior settles into a sequence of smaller pockets that hold the daily ebb and flow.

Adding to both the building and the streetscape — without overpowering either — Reno’s Bistro becomes a social hinge within the tower. It’s a small reminder that hospitality, when thoughtfully handled, can ground a workplace in something communal and atmospheric, and encourage people to come together in a setting that feels embracing and familiar.

Text by Bronwyn Marshall
Images by Simon Cecere