Located in the centre of Riyadh, the main financial hub and capital city of Saudi Arabia, the Bofia restaurant (also referred to as “The Tiled Cloud”) is tucked within an unassuming standalone structure. Exhibiting simple geometry and straight lines, the building was once described by the restaurant’s architects as feeling rather “ordinary” in the overall […]

Tucked behind an unassuming roller door, between a messy patchwork of electrical wires and gas metres, the hole-in-the-wall footprint of Pargot doesn’t leave much to the imagination. The dining area is limited to a duo of high bars, each with bench seats, that flare out to accommodate four diners at any one time. Behind the […]

Inspired by the vibrant milieu of the alleyways in Nantou City, the project seeks to reflect on the cultural heritage of the mundane. Scenes of the everyday – people, objects and their settings – are the primary source material for design. To celebrate life in the urban village, the existing structure was cut into as a […]

When discussing the design for St. Alma, the name given to the new diner, Jack and Tim felt strongly about two key points. They believed “first impressions are everything” – a mantra adopted with the launch of their first restaurant. But they also recognised it was important for St. Alma to “stand her ground” rather than […]

With unconventionality resting at the heart of Tin Tin, the spin-off from its glaring commitment to materiality is an experience that engages the senses beyond expectation. The Renesa team focussed on crafting “a sense of Zen,” they insist, while at the same time they leant into the sensibilities of local Indian materiality to bring the […]

Located in Saint Petersburg, the 105-square-metre restaurant fit-out was inspired by the atmosphere of a typical Milanese cafe. Its point of difference, however, lies in the way Eduard and Katy blended the cafe archetype with a “futuristic” approach. “[We needed] to combine warm and cool tones, leather and metallic details in a very delicate way,” […]

Located on the street level of a typical late 19th-century Haussmann building, Neri&Hu’s design concept for Papi celebrates “the layered material heritage that narrates Parisian history,” explains company founders, Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu. “During the dismantling phase, the existing site was treated carefully, by stripping back the strata of finishes that have built up […]

The way in which the Masquespacio team has presented the restaurant encourages diners to meander through a layout of key sitting areas, likened by the designers to “small corners as if you were at the fantastic Orient, with its lounge seats that invite different dining groups to relax and connect with each other”. At the […]

Sited in the heart of Montreal’s culinary scene, on Notre Dame Street in Griffintown, Shay offers diners an escape from the monotone brick-and-stone building facades of the main strip. Once inside, guests are invited to sip a selection of Middle Eastern teas – or perhaps imbibe something a little harder – immersed in a world of […]

The term, derived from the slang word fugazi, roughly meaning ‘fake’, was thrown around in the movie by Mark Hanna, played by Matthew McConaughey, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Jordan Belfort. Discussing the reality that nobody really knows whether the stock market is likely to go up, down (or as Hanna says, “sideways or in circles”), […]