It amazes me how interior designers are able to integrate alluring spaces into the most unsuspecting areas. Spice Temple’s inconspicuous entrance - a hologram-like doorway tucked into a crevice to the side of Rockpool’s grand façade on Hunter Street - is a case in point.

Walk down the yellow-tinted stairwell to basement level, where you’ll emerge into a dimly-lit abyss marked by red slat screens and dark mood lighting. It’s instantly calming, and one can be forgiven for forgetting that busy Sydney city sits only a few stair flights away.