The quality of the food makes or breaks a restaurant but the importance of the surroundings should never be overlooked.
Text by Jacqueline Yang
Chefs often refer to food as a journey of the senses, of the mind and of
the memory. Yet what foodies most frequently overlook is the importance of restaurant design. Because that journey is not just about what you eat but where you eat and, for restaurateurs, finding that perfect balance between practicality and beauty can make a meal all the more special.
When discussing effective restaurant interior design, it’s easy to get carried away with the qualities of fine dining establishments. But from fast-food to ethnic cafes, to bistros and formal haute cuisine, the same essential design rules apply.
“It’s crucial that menu and decor are synergistic,” explains Calvin Tsao, of the award-winning design team Tsao & McKown, the architectural firm behind Sevva in Central. “They together present the philosophy, the esprit de corps of the restaurant. We always look to the chef’s approach to his cuisine and its presentation: is it classical? New wave? Rustic? From there we start to build an aesthetic.”
Spanning 13,000 square feet, Sevva is mindful of the many approaches to dining. The restaurant had to address different times, moods, purposes of food experiences, from high tea in the afternoon to cocktails after work.
This is done through balancing elements such as proportions, colour interplay and textures. Design is vital in invoking a theme, through suggestive abstractions. At Sevva, for
example, a monochromatic scheme was used for the seats and tables throughout. Due to its fragmented configuration, the space, Tsao says, would not be ideal for a single restaurant space but was just right for the Sevva concept. Table spacing is perhaps one of the most important parts of a restaurant’s DNA because it sets the tone and mood of a place. Often, the crowding can be deliberate to create a buzz and this is a common tactic for restaurants.
Tsao says: “The science of table spacing – we are talking about obsessing over a difference of inches sometimes – addresses the kind of ambience one
is seeking, as well as the energy of the restaurant.”
Ultimately, he reiterates, the interior must work in tandem with everything else.
“Even the most beautiful design can look out of place and therefore can become incoherent. It can even jeopardise the overall identity of the restaurant. In other words, it could make or break any endeavour.”
On the other side of Central is The French Window, which took over Cuisine Cuisine’s old spot in the ifc Mall late last year. Here, the focus is solely on the fine dining experience, which begins the minute one walks into the striking archaic entrance and through the winding candle-lit corridor.
When Eric Ng, founder and director of design firm AB Concept, was tasked with transforming the space, he was faced with the challenge of creating a distinct impression with the facade, which competes with myriad neighbouring designs in the mall.
“Our goal was to craft a restaurant that is upscale and not uptight. For the entrance, therefore, we created iconic, architecturally lit lantern-style columns in wood and wrought-iron trim that projects out into the mall. The long passageways echo the journey through the dim hallways of a French chateau, paving the long corridors with lush vertical garden panels.”
At the end of the “journey”, guests are greeted with a flood of light and a spectacular view of Victoria Harbour; from darkness to light; it is as if guests are looking through a French window.
At a restaurant of this calibre, at which guests may often have to pay up to $800 a head, personal space becomes ever more important. As the restaurant overlooks the harbour, Ng wanted to ensure that all diners could admire the view yet still have enough privacy to feel relaxed without being disturbed.
To create the impression of a lavish yet understated dining room, Ng elevated the U-shaped banquet seating in the centre of the restaurant to make the most of the view. Modern screens were also strategically placed in between every table for added privacy and in keeping with the theme of French windows.
Ng notes, however, that the design of the restaurant should take into account the functional aspects of the restaurant. Activities in the kitchen should not affect the operations of the restaurant, and ease of movement is something that should be carefully considered during the planning stages.
Of course, when you’re dealing with ultra- modern fare, such as at Gilbert Yeung’s take on robatayaki at Busy Suzie, the restaurant aesthetics take on an entirely different role. From the intimate, hushed tables of The French Window, Busy Suzie is exact opposite.
“Gilbert had the concept of doing robatayaki and invited us to Tokyo to see an incredible traditional Japanese restaurant where the food, preparation, the chef and the waiters were at the centre of the scene,” says designer Dorothee Boissier of French design firm Gilles & Boissier Studio and previously the head designer for Philippe Starck. “The clients were seated around this very, very large bar enjoying the food. But the energy was coming out through all this activity. This was what we wanted to recreate at Busy Suzie.”
Situated at 1881 Heritage, the space is a spherical one and as such, the design was built around a wave, starting from the entrance to the end. From that, different spaces such as dining rooms, lounges and a bar are formed.
All of which take from a palette of major materials such as bamboo, deep blue wood, dark wood and pale pink. Wooded partitions are one of the key elements used to divide the spaces.
“We took a more sensual approach when we designed the layout to this restaurant. We closed our eyes and envisaged how people would evolve throughout the evening, where they would like to sit, talk, dance and seduce,” Boissier explains.
Around the robatayaki bar, the seating is cosy with chefs only an arm’s reach away. The electric blue lighting illuminates from the walls and is evocative of the active Tokyo nightlife. For spaces that require more light such as the dining rooms, dozens of traditional orange lanterns hang from the ceiling.
The result is a space full of energy that flows throughout the restaurant from day to night – a formula that Gilbert Yeung has perfected and works so well in Hong Kong.
Founder of Zuma and Roka, Rainer Becker, says when opening a global chain of restaurants, identity is of utmost important. “You want your guest to feel like they are in Zuma whether they are in London, Dubai or Hong Kong. This is mostly done through the use of common materials such as glass, granite and, in the case of Zuma, steel.”
But, Becker is quick to point out that ultimately, “you don’t want your guests to visit a restaurant for the great design alone. At the end of the day, you want them to return because the food is good. That is after all, why you opened a restaurant in the first place.”
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