2026 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards Winners Announced
Celebrating its 18th year, the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards announces this years winners
The design awards recognises and celebrates the world's most creative spaces and the people behind them. Judged by a panel of 44 of the most influential personalities in design, hospitality and lifestyle globally, the 2026 Awards attracted 1,155 entries across 53 categories from 73 countries.
Best Overall Restaurant
Carbone Riviera at Bellagio Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas, USA) by MBDS
Carbone Riviera is an upscale Italian coastal seafood restaurant located inside the Bellagio. It is designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio (MBDS), an internationally acclaimed interior architecture and design practice founded in 2000. Known for its deeply layered, colorful, and maximalist aesthetic, MBDS blends historical context with modern functionality to create deeply immersive, luxurious spaces worldwide.
Martin Brudnizki Design Studio (MBDS) is an internationally acclaimed interior architecture and design practice founded in 2000. Headquartered in London and New York, the studio specializes in high-end hospitality, commercial, and residential projects. Known for its deeply layered, colorful, and maximalist aesthetic, MBDS blends historical context with modern functionality to create deeply immersive, luxurious spaces worldwide.
Awards judge, Meshari Aloudah, Founder and CEO of Social Eats Hospitality Group, noted of the restaurant: ‘Exceptional handcraft, a hand-painted swirling ceiling mural, mosaic-clad columns, and bronze candelabra chandeliers evoke Picasso’s Vallauris years with real conviction. Terracotta, gold, and sea blue are balanced beautifully against the Bellagio’s existing grandeur.’
Best Overall Bar
Saikindō at Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island (Abu Dhabi, UAE) by AvroKO
Inspired by Tokyo’s legendary listening bars, Saikindō at Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island unfolds across a bespoke atelier, HiFi bar, robata room, Kūkan, and the terrace. It is designed by AvroKO, an internationally recognised design firm known for creating emotionally resonant experiences through its Hospitable Thinking® philosophy.
Founded in New York City by Kristina O’Neal, Adam Farmerie, William Harris, and Greg Bradshaw, AvroKO is an internationally recognized design firm known for creating emotionally resonant experiences through its Hospitable Thinking® philosophy. Its portfolio spans restaurants, bars, hotels, retail, residential, and mixed-use projects worldwide. With offices in New York, London, Bangkok, and San Francisco, AvroKO works across more than 40 countries.
Competition judge, Despina Kalapoda, Senior Director of Design Strategy at Marriott International, commented: ‘A highly distinctive project that integrates technology with remarkable sophistication and character. The carefully choreographed sequence of spaces creates a sense of discovery, drawing guests deeper into the experience with each transition. The seamless fusion of acoustics, atmosphere, and storytelling elevates the concept beyond a traditional bar, resulting in an immersive and memorable destination with a strong sense of identity.’
For more information: https://restaurantandbardesignawards.com/
