The Big Easy Group’s House of George is set for a rebrand
It will be a “marriage between the Bandits and La Louisiane” at Tarantino’s – set to open inside the East End space at the end of this month.
Experience-based hospitality is what The Big Easy Group do so well.
Think about the first time you walked down the steps of Big Easy’s La Louisiane: being instantly transported to a French bistro.
The latest Big Easy instalment, Tarantino’s – which will open inside the former House of George space at the end of this month – will encompass the same ethos, but a different cuisine.
The team decided on a 70s to 80s New York Italian venue, that is “more experience-based” and “intimate”.
“La Louisiane has been a prime example of that transformative experience where you go down and you could be anywhere in the world,” The Big Easy Group’s Oliver Brown says.
“We want to achieve the same things with Tarantino’s… there’ll be little gems throughout the service which are intentionally there to elevate – like with La Louisiane, you have the snail shots and the martinis on arrival and the live music – we’ll be weaving in those very experience-based elements through the dining as well.
“That’s the major fundamental reason for the change… now we want to spin the experience where we think dining is going.”
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The Big Easy Group also run The Stag – which adjoins House of George – NOLA, Anchovy Bandit, Bandit Pizza & Wine and others.
“It’s been a journey,” Oliver says as we sit inside The Stag while tradies begin to work on changing up House of George.
At the beginning of last year, The Big Easy Group put The Stag and its adjoining restaurant, House of George, up for sale. But Oliver tells CityMag they “didn’t really get what [they] wanted” and instead decided to keep the two venues in The Big Easy portfolio and “double down” on the pub and restaurants offering.
Oliver says they had initially planned for a “Bandit takeover” instead because Shane Wilson and Alex Bennett of Anchovy Bandit and Bandit Pizza & Wine became part of The Stag and House of George family.
The team decided against this as they noticed The Stag was “working well and customers were gelling with it quite nicely”.
“We wanted to be a fresh set of eyes for the whole building, I guess, and make improvements where we saw fit, which has been really, really good and fun,” Alex says.
What Alex says they noticed with the House of George space was “the concept itself was a little bit broken”.
“We saw what House of George has been doing really, really well, which is delivering really good food, a great experience, a lovely venue, and the people who came, loved it,” Alex says.
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“But the concept itself was… not quite right for the times: it was all big, communal, food for large groups.
“We were seeing more and more that our group size was getting smaller, so a group of two couldn’t really come and have the House of George experience.”
Oliver hints at some dishes for the Tarantino’s menu – which Shane has been testing at other Big Easy venues – including a baked vodka pasta.
“Then we had to remove the hearth in Bandit Pizza & Wine – we have the hearth here so we can do bistecca’s and steaks, and we’re going to do whole Murray cods and things like that,” Oliver says.
“It’s almost like a marriage between the Bandits and La Louisiane in a way – very experience-based, so spend per head will be a little bit higher than Anchovy Bandit is currently.”
They’ve gone for a “very artistically driven design” as they’re collaborating with creative agency 2049, responsible for the interior design at Pinco Italo, Pastel Wine Bar, Belles Hot Chicken.
James Brown of 2049 will be doing a range of custom pieces for the space as well.
“It’s what you’d imagine [being 70s to 80s New York-Italian] with like lamps and white tablecloths, but then we’re going to really modernise it and make it fun,” Oliver says.
“The infrastructure [at House of George] was amazing, so we really wanted to do as much of an art flip as anything else. So it’s going to be very installation and colour-based, rather than any new architecture.
“When I think of New York, I think of the galleries and this art scene… it should be beautiful and interesting and fun with an ode to that 70s Italian restaurant.”
Tarantino’s is slated to open in late June and is located at 30 Vardon Avenue, Adelaide.
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