Bar Soma x noissue

Third places are a wonderful thing. It’s where you catch up with friends, celebrate a special occasion, meet new people, or just generally have a delightful time either doing a favorite activity or while wining and dining—whatever you feel is right at the moment. Luckily, for the folks at Scarness in Queensland, there is a new bar-restaurant in town that you might want to check out.

Bar Soma is a neighborhood bar and restaurant located along Hervey Bay’s esplanade. Timo van Hest and Neil Yates co-founded it in late 2022 with the goal of creating a spectacular dining experience in a cozy and intimate setting where guests from near and far can enjoy shared-style dining, specialty cocktails, and natural wines. And with both Timo and Neil’s extensive experience in the hospitality industry, it’s all the more possible.

Bar Soma's attention to detail and commitment to offering an exceptional menu led them to take their customers’ experience up a notch through the use of customizable, sustainable food packaging. In their partnership with noissue, they created a solution that can not only serve as a functional tool to present their food but also do so in style. Read all about Bar Soma’s packaging journey below!

Tell us a bit about your brand!

Soma is inspired by many of the bars I have been fortunate to work at in my career, with the addition of an excellent food program. After living in Hervey Bay for 3 years, and having really missed the quality of experience venues in bigger cities offered, my business partner, Neil – a talented chef – and I decided to create Soma.

We were fortunate enough to be offered our ideal space, and over two whirlwind months we transformed it from a clothing store into a restaurant and had the doors open. Our aim was to create a space that took people out of their everyday lives, a little holiday from their lives if you will, and the inspiration for the name a reference to the "soma" in Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World'.

The cocktails are playful and centered around styles and key ingredients that are familiar, with an additional element or ingredient that gets attention, and takes people just to the edge of their comfort zone. Wines are broadly natural or low-intervention, with a focus on small producers.

The food is served bistro style, with an ethos of shared dining. The menu takes inspiration from middle-eastern and south-east Asian flavors, but presented in a familiar way. It is divided up over snacks, share plates, and substantial mains – sized to be shared - with the idea that you would order a few from each section, giving you the freedom over your own experience, food comes out as it is ready, and you can snack as you drink. We set it out the way we like to dine.

Tell us about the design for your packaging and how you’re using them?

We use branded, greaseproof 'slap sheets' as a playful backdrop for our snacks and share plates. These little details help set us apart from other venues, and provide a point of reference for when our customers upload photos of the food.

What made noissue a good fit for your packaging?

I came across noissue through Instagram, and have been following you for a long time before using your products, having always been impressed with the vibrancy and range of products you offered. So when we decided to bring our branding into the food, the choice was a no-brainer.