When Sundoo Kim left Melbourne for Perth in 2022, it was to open a single restaurant. Three years and several acclaimed venues later, the Executive Chef of Nokturnl Group is back at the table with General Manager Fran Diettrich, the two reuniting beneath The Station to open BANGLA, a pan-Asian restaurant that takes the long view of an evening. Nokturnal Director Ross Drennan provides some insight “People don’t necessarily want bigger nights anymore. They just want better ones. And BANGLA will deliver that” said Drennan.
So how will they deliver just that? The room sits downstairs and operates as its own world. Louder, colourful and deliberately immersive, it draws its energy from the night markets and street-level dining culture of Asia without being beholden to any single corner of the continent. The menu is share-style, the cocktails are serious, and the night, by design, is yours to spend.
Nokturnl has spent the better part of a decade shaping Perth’s appetite for Asian dining, through Tonic + Ginger, Lotus and KARLA. BANGLA feels like the moment the group stops proving itself and starts enjoying the view. We spoke with Kim, Diettrich and the group’s directors about what it took to get here, and what they are putting on the table now that they have arrived.
Sundoo Kim, Executive Chef
You relocated from Lucas Group in Melbourne to Perth in 2022 to open Lotus, and have since built much of Nokturnl’s Asian dining identity from the ground up. What has that journey taught you, and what does BANGLA represent as the next step?
It’s been a huge journey over the last few years. When I first came to Perth to open Lotus at the Beaufort, I don’t think any of us expected how quickly the group and venue would evolve. I’m really proud of what we’ve built across Tonic + Ginger, Lotus and especially KARLA. Each restaurant has developed its own personality and loyal following, which has been exciting to be a part of.
One of the biggest things for me has been building strong teams. It’s amazing seeing chefs who started in junior roles now leading kitchens themselves. Don Park at Tonic + Ginger is a great example. Western Australia has also been incredible from a produce perspective. The quality of ingredients and suppliers here is outstanding and that’s helped shape every menu we’ve created.
There have been challenges of course. COVID, economic uncertainty, rising costs. But BANGLA feels like an exciting next evolution for us. It brings together everything we’ve learned so far, with a little more energy and fun as well.
BANGLA draws inspiration from across Asia rather than any single region or technique. How do you build a menu with a coherent point of view when the source material spans an entire continent?
For us, every Nokturnl restaurant starts with a clear identity and feeling. Even though the venues come from the same hospitality operator, each one has its own personality and we work collaboratively across all departments to bring that vision to life.
With BANGLA, the focus is on big flavour, atmosphere and creating a memorable guest experience. The menu draws inspiration from many different cuisines across Asia, but we’re not trying to directly emulate any one style or district. It’s more about allowing our chef talent to showcase their skills in balancing flavour and creating dishes people genuinely want to eat, share and experience together. Share-style dining naturally connects our restaurant experiences, especially through our Chef Feed Me and Banquet menus.
At the same time, we’re passionate about showcasing great WA produce and suppliers. We work closely with people like Endeavour Seafood, Princi Butchers and Pezzano, and those relationships are a huge part of the quality and consistency you see across our kitchens and venues.
Bangla Road is famously loud, sensory and a little unpredictable. How do you translate that atmosphere into a dining experience without it tipping into something that feels costumed or contrived?
The inspiration for BANGLA comes more from the feeling and atmosphere than from trying to recreate a specific place. We wanted BANGLA to feel energetic, lively and full of movement, yet still polished and approachable at the same time.
A lot of that comes through music, lighting, service and small moments of surprise and delight throughout the venue rather than anything overly themed or gimmicky. There are pops of colour, strong flavours and a lot of atmosphere, including a cheeky monkey mascot, but always with that signature Nokturnl level of hospitality and detail behind it.
You have opened multiple restaurants across the Nokturnl portfolio in a short period. What have you learned about Perth diners through that process, and how does that shape what you are putting on the table at BANGLA?
Perth diners are definitely more adventurous than people give them credit for, but they also love good classics and familiar flavours done well. Post-COVID, people care much more about provenance, seasonality and supporting local, all things we consider carefully when crafting our menus.
Diners are also looking for much more than just food and drinks. They want atmosphere, energy and a full experience when they go out. For us, it’s about bringing together flavour, hospitality and atmosphere in a holistic way, and that’s what has really shaped BANGLA. We want it to feel fun, vibrant and social, but still elevated and, for want of a better phrase, signature Nokturnl.
Fran Diettrich, General Manager, The Station
You and Sundoo worked together at Lotus, went your separate ways, and are now reuniting for BANGLA beneath a venue you opened and run. What is different about this collaboration compared to where you both were in 2022?
It feels really full-circle in the best possible way. When Sundoo and I worked together at Lotus, we were both stepping into something new and learning a lot very quickly. Since then, we’ve both grown enormously in our careers and opened multiple, award-winning venues independently. There’s naturally a much deeper level of confidence, trust and understanding now.
We both have a clear sense of the kind of experience we want guests to have at BANGLA, and how important culture, atmosphere and consistency are in building a successful restaurant long-term.
There’s also something really special about reuniting beneath The Station specifically. We’ve both played such a big role in Nokturnl’s Asian dining journey over the past few years, so for BANGLA to bring everything back together again feels incredibly exciting.
BANGLA sits physically beneath The Station but operates as its own world. How do you think about the relationship between the two, and where does the experience of one end and the other begin?
The contrast is actually one of the things we love most about the space. The Station upstairs has its own energy and identity, but the moment guests head downstairs and into the world of BANGLA, the atmosphere completely shifts.
We really wanted it to feel emotive and immersive, almost like discovering something hidden beneath the venue. The lighting, music, service and atmosphere are all intentionally different, while still feeling connected through that broader Nokturnl style of hospitality.
The venues complement each other naturally. You can start upstairs casually and then settle into a long dinner downstairs, or vice versa. It’s less about where one experience ends and the other begins, and more about creating different layers to the overall guest experience. Warmth and movement in hospitality venues isn’t something you can manufacture, and that’s the point of difference we’ve really focused on while creating BANGLA.
Ross Drennan, Director
Asian dining has become central to Nokturnl’s identity over the past few years. Was that a deliberate strategic direction, or did the talent and opportunity pull the group there organically?
Honestly, it evolved fairly organically. We’ve always believed strongly in backing talented people and over time we found ourselves surrounded by an incredible group of chefs who are deeply passionate about Asian cuisine and dining culture.
The success of restaurants like Tonic + Ginger, Lotus and KARLA gave us confidence to keep evolving in that space, but it was never some grand master plan. It came about quite organically from the pool of talent within our business and the kinds of experiences we genuinely love creating.
Asian dining naturally lends itself to the sort of atmosphere and culture we’re drawn to as hospitality operators. Bold flavours, social energy, shared dining, movement, music, cocktails, warmth, fun. And over time it’s become a really authentic, beautiful part of Nokturnl’s identity.
Perth has seen considerable activity in the Asian dining space recently. What does BANGLA bring that genuinely moves the conversation forward rather than adding another name to a busy field?
For us, BANGLA is more about creating a feeling and experience than just opening another restaurant. Obviously the food is incredibly important, but we’re equally focused on atmosphere, energy and the overall guest experience.
What makes BANGLA exciting for us is that it’s not tied too tightly to one particular region. It draws inspiration from across Asia, but through our own lens and the experience our team has built, and often experienced first-hand, over the past few years.
We wanted BANGLA to feel immersive, vibrant and alive. Somewhere with energy and movement, but still polished and hospitality-driven. There’s a confidence and maturity to this concept that has come from having opened and evolved several Asian restaurants before it. It’s an exciting milestone for both Nokturnl as a group and our people.
The name BANGLA is doing a lot of work before anyone has tasted the food. How important is that sense of place and cultural reference as a starting point, and where does the inspiration end and the original thinking begin?
The inspiration behind BANGLA was always more emotive and atmospheric than literal. We weren’t trying to recreate a street or replicate a specific place. It was more about capturing a feeling and experience where everything feels energetic, sensory and exciting all at once.
The name creates a sense of atmosphere before guests even walk through the door, which we loved. But from there, the venue becomes its own thing through our Nokturnl lens and talent. The food, vibe, aesthetic, flavour. It was really important to us that BANGLA felt original to Perth rather than themed or imitative.
BANGLA is built around the idea of lingering late into the night. Perth has always had an ambivalent relationship with that kind of dining culture. Do you think the city is finally ready for a restaurant that genuinely wants you to stay until midnight?
Perth’s dining culture has evolved enormously over the past few years. People are increasingly looking for complete experiences, and we don’t just mean great food, but great atmosphere, energy and spaces that genuinely feel immersive and social.
For us it’s less about staying open until all hours and more about creating a restaurant people genuinely don’t want to leave. We wanted BANGLA to feel vibrant and energetic without becoming a nightclub or bar environment. There’s a big difference between being a late-night venue and being a restaurant with real atmosphere. BANGLA is designed for long dinners, shared plates, cocktails and that feeling where the night naturally unfolds around you.
People don’t necessarily want bigger nights anymore. They just want better ones. And BANGLA will deliver that.