AV Case Study: Maison Bâtard
Melbourne’s Maison Bâtard strives for hospitality perfection. EAW and Powersoft combine for a superior audio solution.
24 July 2025
Story:/ Christopher Holder
Maison Bâtard is a restaurant with lofty aspirations. Launched by Lucas Restaurants, helmed by Chris Lucas, Maison Bâtard is the jewel in the crown of his Melbourne-based hospitality empire. He’s gone ‘all in’ – this is the pinnacle of everything Chris Lucas knows and cares about in the restaurant biz.
“Maison Bâtard was never about creating just another restaurant,” Chris Lucas is quoted as saying. “It’s a legacy project. We wanted to give Melbourne a place that celebrates timeless hospitality, beauty, and cultural sophistication.”
The four-level venue comprises the Maison Bâtard restaurant spanning the lower two floors, a late-night supper club (Le Club) in the basement, and a rooftop terrace called La Terrasse.
A design collaboration between Chris and Sarah Lucas, Mitchell & Eades, and Mills Gorman Architects, saw the heritage 23 Bourke Street site lovingly restored and realised over the space of five-plus years.
The meticulous attention to detail extends to the audiovisual installation. Lucas Restaurants once again leant on the Zelo Group to take care of the audiovisual design and fitout. Zelo, with Stephen Sokolowski as design manager, has a long history working with Lucas Restaurants and has an intimate understanding of how Chris Lucas likes to work. Lucas Restaurants has always prioritised music in its venues and great audio coverage but it was clear from early design conversations that Maison Bâtard would see a further elevation in sound quality and performance. Case in point is the prodigious basement bar – Le Club:
LE CLUB: NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND
Maison Bâtard may present as a rarefied, well-mannered temple to French luxury dining, but descend the stairs and you’ll find a different beast entirely. Le Club is Lucas Restaurants’ not-so-secret weapon – a fully-fledged entertainment bunker that has the audio firepower to handle just about anything likely thrown at it.
“Lucas Restaurants has long supported Zelo, and Zelo has been a strong supporter of EAW and Powersoft for more than a decade,” says Stephen Sokolowski. “This was the first venue where we had the opportunity to really influence a space that wasn’t just a restaurant — it was also an entertainment venue.”
Zelo specified a high-output EAW MKD sound system for the space — a move that elevated Le Club from polite to full-throttle. And it didn’t go unnoticed. “Lucas Restaurants team got some amazing feedback from Drake. He had a private party in Le Club and really put the system through its paces,” recalls Stephen. “Drake was blown away; the system, the vibe, the performance… he was feeling all of it. Drake’s heard the best of the best, so getting that kind of love? That’s massive!”
Ben Clarke from PAVT (which provided specialised audio design support on the project) backed the push for a tour-grade spec from the onset. “As soon as Stephen showed me the plans and said there’d be a basement cocktail bar, I thought: private parties, DJs… we’re going to need a nightclub-grade sound system,” says Ben. “We strongly encouraged Zelo to step up to a proper club-capable system — beyond what would normally be considered in a restaurant context.”
The result is Le Club – a punchy, dynamic venue within a venue; acoustically tuned, tastefully appointed, and club-ready; and a default spot for big moments and bigger names.
POWERSOFT PLAYS HARD
Amplifiers are rarely the headline act in an audio install, but at Maison Bâtard, the Powersoft Unica amps are doing more than their fair share of heavy lifting — quietly, efficiently, and with a level of smarts that’s defining the category.
“Unica represents a real step forward — not just for Powersoft, but for amplifier tech in general,” says PAVT’s Ben Clarke. “It’s a new topology, designed to solve long-term serviceability and flexibility issues.”
Thanks to Powersoft’s signature power-sharing tech, the (up to eight-channel) Unica line allows power to be intelligently distributed where needed, meaning a standardised amp model can be deployed across the entire venue.
“All the power under the bonnet gets distributed as needed,” explains Ben. “You don’t need to stock different amps for different tasks. And if a swap is ever needed, Powersoft’s new ‘easy swap’ tech means even non-technical staff can change out DSP amps on site.”
Unica has a lot going for it: multiple fans with cooling redundancy, front-panel foam filters for easier cleaning, and a PoE-powered front end that allows commissioning — or even remote diagnostics — without needing mains power. That last feature might seem niche, but in a venue like Bâtard, where uptime and aesthetics are non-negotiable, it’s gold.
GRANULAR: ZONE CONTROL
Specifying the appropriate complement of Powersoft Unica amps (loaded with the EAW ‘Greybox’ turnkey FIR filters, speaker protection and EQ settings) to power the phalanx of EAW MKC_ surfacemount loudspeakers and SB subwoofersis a key contributor to attaining the sort of granular zone control the venue demands.
“If a manager phones and requests, ‘Can we adjust the volume just around this table?’, you need individual channel control,” explains Ben. “Thanks to Unica and the Zelo audio design Maison Bâtard has that, without taking up any significant amount of rack space or power consumption.”
The other key aspect to the spacious, dynamic, and musical nature of the audio is the stereo-pair design approach: “Stereo is purposefully alternated throughout the venue for maximum dynamics and vibe,” explains Stephen Sokolowski. “There are no lazy mono mixes or endless speaker daisy chains here. Just clean, punchy sound exactly where it should be.”
PLAYBACK PRIORITY
Good audio design isn’t confined to the amps and speaker selection and placement, the playback system is properly catered for. Zelo prefers Bluesound streamers, pointing to a server for the restaurant’s musical content, which is meticulously curated. “I don’t know any other hospitality brand that invests in the audio experience like Lucas Restaurants,” comments Stephen. “They truly value how music communicates the brand and shapes the guest experience.”
An iPad hosting a Q-SYS UCI controls the music in each area.
Stephen Sokolowski: “We’ve looked into other management systems, but Bluesound works well for Lucas Restaurants. Bluesound’s update process is also more stable for commercial partners. They’re less likely to break things with an update, and the Bluesound ecosystem offers integration APIs for Q-SYS and others.
“The playlists are automated by time of day, but you can still go into Bluesound and select or check any playlist.”
EAW: MORE FIRSTS
Maison Bâtard is the first major Australian site to install loudspeakers from the EAW MKC range — its next-gen two-way catalogue. Subwoofers comprise a combination of EAW SB120z, SB150z, SB210 and SB825p behind custom ceiling grilles.
The two-way coax MKC range is designed for small to medium rooms, with improved consistency of coverage and off-axis response. As with everything released by EAW, a pure flat phase and magnitude response offers studio grade sound quality, while visually, the cabinets are more refined — better suited for architects and designers – yet don’t come with an unaffordable boutique price tag.
“We’re using 60 or 70 EAW MKC-50s, 60s and 80s. It’s great to have that flexibility and still be using premium product,” notes Stephen.
Clearly, EAW’s MKC range is highly capable and it needs to be. These loudspeakers have more on their plate than background music.
“For the first month of trading, Bâtard had opera singers performing to backing tracks through the entire restaurant,” according to Stephen Sokolowski. “These loudspeakers aren’t just for background music — they support live performance. While the basement system can do anything — a band, cabaret, comedy — the entire facility has got the headroom and coverage to handle it all.”
FINDING THE SWEETSPOT
According to Stephen Sokolowski, Zelo’s focus is on selecting the right speaker for the right application; no guesswork, just good science (and great ears). Backed by Lucas Restaurants’ John Kanis (an advocate of great audio), the design team uses EAW Resolution modelling to map out every sweet spot.
“John’s the kind of guy who’ll back smart speaker placement over aesthetics – if you’ve got the data and the rationale, he’s in,” says Stephen. “And with EAW Resolution, Zelo can demonstrate how the sound behaves in the environment. It’s not just about what looks good, it’s about what sounds right and works within each space. Over the years – predictions have always translated to real world results.
Of course, the architects and interior designers are often harder to convince. But even here Stephen is seeing a gradual thawing the more he works on Lucas Restaurants projects: “We’re now seeing sound integration happening as early as the 30–40% stage of the design documentation,” notes Stephen. “That’s a big win for great sound.”
SOUND AS INGREDIENT
If there’s one lesson this project hammers home, it’s that audio is not an afterthought — it’s a vital part of the patron experience.
“What people often forget is that a restaurant’s presentation isn’t just about the food, the drinks list, service or the pricing,” says Ben. “It’s about the experience. That includes the sound.”
It’s not just about the hardware, either. The acoustics need to be addressed long before the first speaker is mounted. “You can’t easily flick a switch to make a room more or less reverberant,” says Stephen. “That’s down to the architecture, and a lot of careful planning and coordination.”
Maison Bâtard is one of those rare builds where the architects and client took the advice seriously. Absorptive materials were deployed thoughtfully, ceilings treated, and acoustic consultants brought in when necessary. Still, of course, some compromises were made — “Sometimes the architect wins and the space needs to prioritise aesthetics.” Stephen admits.
Ben offers a note of optimism: “Restaurant groups like this are more experienced now. They know that when you’ve got 200 diners in a echo ridden reflective or patron noise overwhelming box, it’s not a speaker issue — it’s an acoustics issue.”
Call it progress. Or just a more grown-up conversation between design and sound.
Maison Bâtard: maisonbatard.com.au
Zelo: zelogroup.com.au
PAVT (EAW, Powersoft): pavt.com.au
RESPONSES