First look inside the Smith in Prahran

It's a battle for the bold and beautiful, playing out in Prahran. In the six months since Michael Lambie and Scott Borg closed the Smith on High Street for multimillion-dollar renos, Chapel Street has experienced a tectonic shift. Serious dining has moved in at the hands of Nick Stanton at Ramblr and Charlie Carrington with Atlas Dining.

When the double-sized, younger-looking Smith reopens on July 27, with its 120-seat dining room, two function spaces, a gigantic new atrium bar with a huge retractable roof and 3am licence as well as a fish and chipper (Smith and Chips, opening mid-August), it will be going into battle against two other shiny new 100-plus seaters in Paul Wilson's Wilson and Market and Neptune Food and Wine, directly across the street. Game on.

Lambie and Borg, who also own Lucy Liu and have history at venues like Taxi Dining Room, Lamaro's and Circa, have made no pretence about their motivations for the redesign, which has seen the interior covered in luminous orange and magenta sprays by artist Ash Keating. "The dining world has moved and we're moving with it. We're giving the market what it wants."

In action that's going to look like a far more drink-focused venue with ample cocktail offerings – whether bright and fruity or chocolate foam-capped – from bar manager David Wright. The atrium, which is currently being turned into a jungle, will have weekend DJs. The business's long-time wine buyer, Ollie Wang, has built an international list with high-end options but also bottles starting at $40.

Another long-timer, executive chef Brad Simpson, who is now a partner, is giving the menu a broader, less Asian-focused spin. There will be steak frites and roast duck with orange and ginger jus. Note the Smith stayers, though: Kansas-city pork ribs and the kingfish with nam jim and coconut, joined by late-night bar snacks of nacho fries, soft-shell crab buns, charcuterie and lemon pepper chicken ribs. Smith and Chips will add rotisserie birds and buckets of prawns.

Is there a raw bar, organic salads and light boxes? Do you even need to ask? Let the games begin.

213 High Street, Prahran, 03 9514 2444, thesmithprahran.com.au