a deep-blue lounge with an installation that resembles the setting sun
Photography by Alessandro Paderni/Eye Studio.

March 7, 2023

Words: Georgina McWhirter

6 New Eateries With Innovative Designs

Sustainable materials, algorithm-devised patterns, and sunsetlike lighting are some of the design-forward ingredients on the menu at these appealing new eateries.

New Bars and Restaurants with Delectable Design

Ginza Sicilia by Shigeru Ban Architects

Tokyo

For an Italian restaurant on the Shibaura Institute of Technology Toyosu campus, the Pritzker Award Prize–winning architect employs his signature simple medium, recycled cardboard tubes, for such elements as the ceiling, partitions, and chairbacks, along with Richlite, a sustainable material made from paper, for tables and counters.

  • a seating area of a restaurant where much of the accents are made from recycled cardboard tubes
    Photography by Jimmy Cohrssen.
  • a long banquette table in an Italian restaurant in Tokyo
    Photography by Jimmy Cohrssen.
  • the lobby of a Tokyo restaurant with seating and ceiling made from recycled cardboard tubes
    Photography by Jimmy Cohrssen.
  • recycled cardboard tubes make up the ceiling in a Tokyo restaurant
    Photography by Jimmy Cohrssen.
  • a close up of a ceiling made of recycled cardboard tubes
    Photography by Jimmy Cohrssen.

Asterid by BA Collective

Los Angeles

Inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall, a lyrical play of light and dark, solid and void emits from the restaurant’s LED-lit MDF feature wall patterned by computational algorithm, a mark of the firm formerly known as Belzberg Architects, while the tactility of the natural oak flooring, furniture, and screens contrast harmo­niously with the site’s stainless-steel exterior.

  • the dining area inside Walt Disney's Concert Hall under a wood ceiling
    Photography by Yoshihiro Makino.
  • behind a long dining table, an LED-lit wall changes patterns
    Photography by Yoshihiro Makino.
  • oak screens above a dining area in a restaurant
    Photography by Yoshihiro Makino.
  • a bar inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall
    Photography by Yoshihiro Makino.
  • blue architectural exterior of the Walt Disney Concert Hall
    Photography by Yoshihiro Makino.

Cupping Room by M.R. Studio

Hong Kong

A café inside the statuesque Hong Kong Palace Museum—a Rocco Design Architects Associates building clad in curved golden aluminum panels—is anchored by a soaring tiled wall that nods to the double-eave hip roofs of the Forbidden City, its color chosen for the Chinese symbolism that associates black with water, a component essential for coffee making.

  • black tile is on one wall of a cafe with stool seating
    Photography by Steven Ko.
  • globe pendant lights hang above a seating area in a cafe
    Photography by Steven Ko.
  • a glass enclosure with artifacts inside makes a table in the cafe at the Hong Kong Palace Museum
    Photography by Steven Ko.
  • the exterior of the Hong Kong Palace Museum
    Photography by Steven Ko.

Beeer Park by Archihope

Huicheng, China

A black triangle in the shape of a former neighborhood church’s spire and graphic signage on the new aluminum facade followed by an OSB-clad interior with immersive holographic imagery turn an aging commercial building neglected under a torrent of new development into a vibrant all-day bar.

  • the lit up 3D sign at the entrance to Beeer Park in Huicheng, China
    Photography by Vincent Wu.
  • a woman stands in front of the blue image in Beeer Park
    Photography by Vincent Wu.
  • a black triangle above the entrance to Beeer Park in Huicheng, China
    Photography by Vincent Wu.
  • a vibrant blue holograph lights up the bar in Beeer Park
    Photography by Vincent Wu.
  • a seating area inside a former commercial building turned bar
    Photography by Vincent Wu.

Cheese Bakery by Balbek Bureau

Lviv, Ukraine

The former factory turned Kivsh co­working complex offers a place providing not only pastries but also a bomb shelter and a generator to charge phones during wartime. The restrained envelope of concrete flooring and unearthed original brick is also a neutral backdrop for rotating art exhibits and a children’s play area.

  • concrete flooring and original brick make a neutral backdrop in the Cheese Bakery in Ukraine
    Photography by Andrey Bezuglov.
  • a pink and blue children's play area in bakery and bomb shelter in Ukraine
    Photography by Andrey Bezuglov.
  • a lounge area inside Cheese Bakery in Lviv, Ukraine
    Photography by Andrey Bezuglov.
  • curving lights add fun to the bathroom
    Photography by Andrey Bezuglov.
  • the Cheese Bakery in Ukraine lit up at night
    Photography by Andrey Bezuglov.

Agli Amici 1887 by Visual Display

Udine, Italy

In an atmospheric deep-blue lounge surveyed by a glowing light-art installation resembling the setting sun, a prep counter hand-troweled with metallic plaster becomes a stage where chefs prepare inventive Michelin–starred fare under the watchful gaze of diners ensconced in Patricia Urquiola’s cosseting Ruff armchairs.

  • a deep-blue lounge with an installation that resembles the setting sun
    Photography by Alessandro Paderni/Eye Studio.
  • a deep-blue lounge with an installation that resembles the sun
    Photography by Alessandro Paderni/Eye Studio.
  • chefs prepare Michelin-starred meals in a deep-blue lounge
    Photography by Alessandro Paderni/Eye Studio.
  • a seating area inside a lounge in Udine, Italy
    Photography by Alessandro Paderni/Eye Studio.
  • a bartender crafts a cocktail in front of a glowing installation at an Italian lounge
    Photography by Alessandro Paderni/Eye Studio.

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