Chef Phil Wood’s first independent restaurant, Ursula’s Paddington, has opened to diners for the first time last week. Named after a family member who lived on Jersey Road many years ago, Ursula’s is an Australian bistro that celebrates the youth and promise of an exciting new venture for Wood and his wife Lis Davies, whilst paying homage to the site’s remarkable history of hospitality.

Wood and Davies worked with Melbourne-based designer Brahman Perera (Brem) to create a warm and comfortable space. Following Brem’s romantic and personalised approach to interiors, rich caramel tones, crisp silks and a distinct flavour of whimsy combine to offer elegant dining rooms with unexpected embellishment and intrigue.

Working with local designers, a bespoke approach to lighting and joinery creates a theatrical and textural backdrop. Sculptural folded metal by Clementine Maconachie bend and shape warm light that spills across the softly textured walls. Livio Tobler was commissioned to design feature timber pieces for the restaurant, with his signature wavy legs complementing the playful feel of Ursula’s Paddington.

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Brem’s own oversized handmade plaster pendants — which we first discovered during Melbourne Design Week 2021 at After Hours — create an intimate scene over dining tables, their fluted and undulating skirts adding a sense of movement and theatre. Ascending the stairs to The Blue Room, with a corner balcony overlooking Paddington and the city, the restaurant’s private dining space is wrapped in a soft periwinkle blue providing an intimate dining experience.

“Conceived and executed under the limitations of COVID restrictions, this restaurant is a timely reminded that interiors always frame our lived experiences — and, in order to be enlivened, we must engage our other senses,” says Brem.

“The white linen-covered dining table is the stage, while the interior provides a comforting, cocooning embrace that offers a sense of beauty and delight that will endure for many years to come. The very personal and brave approach that Phil & Lis are shaping Ursula’s is surely the makings of a truly beloved local,” concludes Brem.

Above: Interior designer Brahman Perera. Right: Chef Phil Wood.

[Images courtesy of Brahman Perera. Photography by Nikki To.]