The Smith in Prahran to add courtyard bar, fish and chip shop

Stand by for a new party HQ, Prahran. The Smith (213 High Street) is doubling in size, adding an all-weather atrium under a German-designed retractable glass roof.

Owners Michael Lambie and Scott Borg plan to punch a hole through to the building next door, adding a courtyard bar with room for 300 and a modern fish and chip shop, Smith and Chips, with a separate High Street entrance.

March Studio (Gazi, Lucy Liu, Jimmy Grants) will oversee the hotel's makeover, which will begin in the new year. Even the menu will get an overhaul. Chef and business partner Brad Simpson is promising a modern Australian approach – less Asian, more global, with an emphasis on good produce.

The last day of service for The Smith mark 1 will be New Year's Eve and the owners hope to reopen in May 2017.