organically-shaped niches hold bottles behind the bar
Photography by Art Gray.

November 1, 2023

Words: Wilson Barlow

Words: Lisa Di Venuta

7 Global Restaurants Serve Up Organic Forms

Seven restaurants across three continents embrace organic forms and global palettes, serving up a menu of aesthetic umami.

Audrey Green and Larry’s Bar, London

Designed by Run for the Hills

  • pink leather and velvet seating in a cocktail lounge at the National Portrait Gallery
    Photography by Katya de Grunwald.
  • pink seating against a marbled pink wall in a cocktail lounge at the National Portrait Gallery
    Photography by Katya de Grunwald.
  • a mid-century photograph on the wall of a Audrey Green and Larry's Bar in London
    Photography by Katya de Grunwald.
  • a marble countertop at a London cafe and bar
    Photography by Katya de Grunwald.
  • the entrance to Audrey Green and Larry's Bar in London
    Photography by Katya de Grunwald.

A restoration project inside the National Portrait Gallery revealed original mosaic flooring, which now shines alongside the café’s new walnut and veined-marble counters, while a glazed atrium illuminates the downstairs cocktail lounge’s custom velvet- and leather-upholstered seating; photography from the museum’s collection graces all walls.

Meat the Fish, London

Designed by MariaGroup

  • a tentacle-esque ceramic bas-relief around a fireplace
    Photography by Michael Sinclair.
  • red seating and cream circular dining tables in Meat the Fish
    Photography by Michael Sinclair.
  • a floral tapestry in a London restaurant
    Photography by Michael Sinclair.
  • the bar atop custom black and white encaustic floor tiles in a London restaurant
    Photography by Michael Sinclair.
  • black and white striped floor tiles
    Photography by Michael Sinclair.
  • chrome bar front and a ceiling installation in Meat the Fish in London
    Photography by Michael Sinclair.
  • a bathroom in a London restaurant with green mosaic tiles
    Photography by Michael Sinclair.

The three zones of this land- and sea-themed establishment are unified by an olive ash ceiling and custom black-and-white encaustic floor tiles, but are differentiated by such commissioned artworks as Souraya Haddad’s tentacle-esque ceramic bas-relief around the fireplace and a five-panel tapestry by Bokja, a studio in Beirut, where the MTF concept originated.

Daphne, Toronto

Designed by Studio Paolo Ferrari

  • a red arched doorway opens to a hallway mural at this Toronto restaurant
    Photography by Joel Esposito.
  • abstract arboreal wallcovering in a restaurant
    Photography by Joel Esposito.
  • an arboreal wallcovering loops around a Toronto restaurant
    Photography by Joel Esposito.
  • arches lit by sconces in a restaurant
    Photography by Joel Esposito.
  • arches are lit by sconces inside Daphne, Toronto
    Photography by Joel Esposito.
  • a red private room in the Daphne restaurant in Toronto
    Photography by Joel Esposito.

Adjacent to the open kitchen, the main dining room’s 14-foot-high plaster arches uplit by custom sconces, marble flooring, and tailored striped sofas, and the bar’s wallcovering—an abstract arboreal pattern that was scanned in high resolution, scaled up, and printed on linen—yield a grottolike, elevated Canadian take on the classic American bistro.

Raionul de Peşte, Bucharest, Romania

Designed by Karim Rashid

  • an intimate room in an aquatic inspired seafood restaurant
    Photography by Sebastian Stan.
  • wavy shelves filled with wine bottles inside an aquatic-themed restaurant
    Photography by Sebastian Stan.
  • a winding booth seat in teal at a Romanian restaurant
    Photography by Sebastian Stan.
  • hallways and bathrooms in a restaurant that looks like it's underwater
    Photography by Sebastian Stan.

The aquatic hues and fluid shapes of marine life inspired the setting of this gourmet seafood restaurant, where seating is organized into intimate coves, LEDs spotlight soybean-derived resin tiles, and gypsum walls with wave motifs meet jellyfish-reminiscent pendant fixtures, all customized by the INTERIOR DESIGN Hall of Fame member so diners feel as if they’re underwater.

La Maruca de López de Hoyos, Madrid

Designed by Zooco Estudio

  • portholes inside a sea-themed restaurant in Madrid
    Photography by David Zarzoso.
  • wood paneling and crisp white are found in the design of this sea-like restaurant
    Photography by David Zarzoso.
  • a look into the chef's kitchen at a Madrid restaurant
    Photography by David Zarzoso.
  • an arched doorway with teak accents
    Photography by David Zarzoso.
  • a thin white curtain is pulled back from a private room in this restaurant
    Photography by David Zarzoso.
  • the bathroom of a sailor-like restaurant with white and teak panels
    Photography by David Zarzoso.

With teak-plank flooring sealed in black polymer joint (the same used on ship decks), bands of white polished cement punctuated by portholes, and doorways referencing horseshoe arches, the local firm brings seafaring vibes to the 6,000-square-foot Cantabrian eatery in Spain’s landlocked capital.

Palmilla Cocina y Tequila, Newport Beach, California

Designed by Atelier Gulla Jonsdottir

  • organically-shaped niches hold bottles behind the bar
    Photography by Art Gray.
  • LED-integrated niches in Aztec geometric shapes at a restaurant
    Photography by Art Gray.
  • rattan pendant fixtures hang in this California restaurant
    Photography by Art Gray.
  • various circular shapes of pendant fixtures hang above a dining table
    Photography by Art Gray.
  • the Brutalist exterior of the Palmilla Cocina y Tequila restaurant in Newport Beach
    Photography by Art Gray.

Although the cuisine is Mexican, an appealing farrago of brutalist, Mayan, and European notes blend at this SoCal spot, from the freeform white concrete facade to the interior terra-cotta finishes. LED-integrated niches do, however, evoke Aztec geometry, and the custom rattan pendant fixtures recall Tulum palapas.

Tan90°, Shenzhen, China

Designed by AD Architecture

  • a woman is seen through an opening in white elastic-looking structures in this restaurant
    Photography by Ouyang Yun.
  • elastic-looking froms in a cafe/whiskey bar
    Photography by Ouyang Yun.
  • a close-up of architectural installations of elastic-like structures
    Photography by Ouyang Yun.
  • a person stands in front of a table amond the glass fiber-reinforced gypsum structures
    Photography by Ouyang Yun.
  • a large tree on the patio of a Chinese café/whiskey bar
    Photography by Ouyang Yun.
  • a nighttime, a whiskey bar is lit up in blue
    Photography by Ouyang Yun.

Derived from stalactite and neuron forms and psychedelic imagery, the elastic-looking glass fiber-reinforced gypsum permeating the 2,000-square-foot daytime café/nighttime whiskey bar alters perspectives as guests, often the high-end clientele that frequents the OCT-Loft Creative Culture Park neighborhood, move through.

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