Marmelo and Mr Mills: Where Food Meets Design

We sat down with Ross Lusted to talk about his latest ventures in Melbourne Place, created alongside his wife and creative partner, Sunny. Marmelo, with its Iberian influence, is a refined restaurant, while Mr Mills is a lively late-night cocktail bar below. Designed with Mitchell & Eades and featuring custom Jardan furniture, the project blends food, design, and atmosphere into a seamless experience. Ross shared the inspiration behind both venues, the flavours that shape the menu, and the journey of bringing this vision to life.

How did Marmelo and Mr Mills come to be part of Melbourne Place?

We had been looking for a space in Melbourne for a couple of years. I love the architecture of Kennedy Nolan and as the brick façade started to take shape a friend suggested we look at the space. The site is on the tree lined Russell Street, a stones through from Chinatown. I first walked the site on a beautiful summer’s day, I was overwhelmed at the double height space, soaring red brick columns and light filled, a rare commodity in Melbourne CBD. It felt Melbourne. It was the perfect site for our restaurant and laneway bar.

Hyde Melbourne Place is a new kind of precinct. How does Marmelo and Mr. Mills fit into the wider vision for this space?

There has always been space for a different style of accommodation in the city, Hyde Melbourne Place is contemporary with a residential feel. The precinct has multiple venues that offer something for all times of the day as well as spaces for retail. This creates a neighbourhood environment that suit Marmelo and Mr Mills.

How do Marmelo and Mr Mills reflect the spirit of Melbourne and what makes them feel at home in this city?

Melbourne is a very market centric city. When I lived in Europe I would shop at the markets on a daily basis and Melbourne’s many markets inspire my cooking style, we are also very connected to wine makers and producers in the region, there is a wonderful energy that comes from this close relationship.

Describe the atmosphere of the space and how it feels to be there.

I feel atmosphere is created when spaces have multiple ways to experience them. Designed by Mitchell & Eades, Marmelo’s elegant dining room is light-filled throughout the day and features intimate dining spaces, opulent banquette seating covered in rich tapestry fabric, brushed metal details and hand painted tiles reminiscent of the streets of Lisbon.  A jewellery-box-like wine cellar sits in the centre of the dining room.

Every time I enter Marmelo it is filled with energy, people chatting in Bar Marmelo overlooking Russell Street, a group in the corner table enjoying the final moments of a long lunch. I love the small vignettes around the wood oven, where as you pass by, you catch a glimpse of the open kitchen where chefs are often chatting with customers at the Chef’s Counter. As you pass the wine cellar, the main dining room engages with the double height volume and the laneway filled with the red glow of the Mr Mills neon sign. Mr Mills is an eclectic cocktail lounge featuring low lighting, intimate booths, edgy artwork and a grand chartreuse staircase taking centre stage and providing a dramatic link to Marmelo.

How did you and Sunny work with Mitchell & Eades to shape the space? What conversations helped bring the vision into focus?

We wanted to create a space that felt European but needed to sit comfortably in Melbourne. I had just returned from a trip to Portugal and the elements that particularly caught my eye including the tiles, the fabrics and the informality of Portugal. Tactility is a really important feature for me. Libson is a city of narrow streets and laneways which we wanted to echo with Marmelo and Mr Mills. Because Lisbon is a trading port there are many grand building with high ceilings and this created a beautiful link with the soaring ceilings of Marmelo.

What drew you to having Jardan pieces throughout the restaurant and bar?

Our designer Mitchell and Eades were drawn to work with Jardan as their furniture is supplied and made in Australia. They commissioned two custom dining tables and a sideboard, one dining table in the main restaurant and another that is the focal element of our Corvo Private Dining room. They also selected the sideboard due to the tonality of the coloured timber finish which complemented the custom wallpaper in the private dining space. In Mr Mills, Mitchell and Eades selected the Tali chair to feature as a grounding element to sit alongside some lighter pieces. It was also selected because of its comfort for the cocktail lounge, whilst also being compact within the space.

On another note, Sunny and I love Jardan’s Australian story, and we are fortunate enough to have a showroom in our local neighbourhood which we pass by regularly and admire the window. We have had a number of pieces from Jardan in our home for many years. We love the design and materials and it feels very Australian.

The menu draws from Portuguese and South African influences. How do those histories and memories take shape on the plate?

I am originally from South Africa and have lived in many countries throughout my life. I have always been fascinated by the explorations of the Portuguese and how they have shaped food history. Marmelo tells the story of the journey of the Portuguese through food, from Africa to the South China Sea; it’s a complex and diverse collection of flavours that continues to evolve to this day.

What was the process of building the menu? Where did you start and how did it evolve?

The menu always starts with the produce and memories of travel. We have amazing produce in Victoria, so the menu is driven by the seasons and availability. We salt Murray Cod in place of European salt cod and grill local cockerel over hot coals like in country Portugal. Some dishes are very traditional, and others are my interpretation and inspired by my travels.

What’s guiding you creatively right now? What are you drawn to?

I am fascinated by the history of food and travel has, and always will be, a major inspiration for me.

What’s coming up next for you that you’re looking forward to?

Art has always been a big part of my life. I paint and make sculpture. I am currently working on constructed timber sculpture series and hope to have a show next year. 

Lastly, what dish or drink should we order on our next visit to Marmelo and Mr. Mills?

We have a great selection of Madeira and port so I always suggest to our guest to save some room for the Pudim, a 15th century dessert developed in a monastery which we have brought back to life in Marmelo. It is a rich dessert made from egg yolks, sugar and pork fat. It is delicious and truly a Portuguese experience served with aged port wine.