Mandrake has established itself as a staple of the Miami Beach dining/nightlife scene
USA - The recently-opened Mandrake has already established itself as a popular staple of the Miami Beach dining and nightlife scene. In addition to a variety of sushi and pan-Asian cuisine prepared by executive chef Jimmy Gallagher, the restaurant is known for its over-the-top décor, including a life-sized gorilla to greet the patrons and bright fuchsia-coloured lighting. Equally important for the restaurant’s ambiance, it also features a Martin Audio CDD sound system installed by Miami’s AVL Innovations (AVLI).
Asked about the audio component, AVLI’s James Reed explains: “Mandrake has several floors and multiple rooms. There’s a sushi bar in the front room where we used eight Martin Audio CDD8’s mounted on the wall along with four SX210 subwoofers built into the banquettes; then there’s a hallway leading to the main dining room with two CDD8’s.”
The main dining room and bar features six wall-mounted CDD10’s with four SX210 subwoofers also built into the seating. The programme material is essentially high-quality background music earlier in the evening, which converts to more of a nightclub atmosphere with dining and dancing later on. A patio area complete with garden is served by four CDD8-WR’s and two CSX212-WR subs.
Continuing the Martin Audio CDD theme, a lounge bar area upstairs has six wall-mounted CDD-LIVE12’s - four for the room and two positioned alongside the DJ booth on a small stage for monitoring, along with four CSX-LIVE118 subwoofers. There is also a DJ setup downstairs in a corner of the main dining room that can be played through the house system or in the individual rooms.
According to James, powering is provided by Lab Gruppen and Biamp loudspeaker management, with Crestron control to tie the lighting and audio system together. “We were also responsible for the sophisticated LED RGB lighting system that runs throughout the venue in the soffits near the ceiling and behind the bar to enhance the interior atmosphere. The designer, Mark Lehmkuhl, really has an eye for this stuff, he does the concepts and interiors for many of the hot spots on Miami Beach, and whenever he’s involved it comes out pretty cool looking.
“In terms of the audio, the owners, Roman Jones and Aris Nanos, are absolutely happy with the sound system,” says Reed. “They’ve been around the nightlife world for quite a while and were very impressed with the Martin Audio system’s coverage and audio quality, both upstairs and downstairs.”
(Jim Evans)

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