South London Restaurant | London
MTA were commissioned as Interior Design consultants for an new restaurant in SE1. The design concept ‘raw' was developed to portray the ethos of chef’s food: using a simple palette of quality ingredients / materials and forms. The existing building fronting a busy pedestrian street was stripped out leaving bare concrete, exposed brick and aged steel. Oak window-boxes puncture into the restaurant to form seats, framing views to the street. The zinc worktop and blackened steel staircase banister define sharp lines leading the diners through the space. The kitchen is open to the restaurant, with the open flames of the pizza oven becoming a focal point in the space. The act of the food preparation is treated as a performance, with dark back-painted glass and directional lighting reflecting the white of the chef’s tunics as they dash around the kitchen. Downstairs, a concrete sub-terrane conceals the private dining area, and the bathrooms in rusty tiles, stainless steel and polished concrete help create a serene washroom space.