When dining out in a restaurant, the food isn’t the only thing that affects a diner’s experience. The interior of the venue has a huge impact on making the meal enjoyable and memorable. Good restaurant design creates a space for guests to feel welcome while complementing the menu and building’s architecture. Throughout our travels in the past year, we have dined in some incredible restaurants across the globe with stunning, unique interiors. Here we take a look back on our favorite spaces and offer some restaurant design ideas for your next hospitality project.
L’and Vineyards Hotel, PORTUGAL
The L’and Vineyards Hotel near Lisbon offers amazing restaurant design ideas. Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan has used a combination of grey slate floor and wooden walls in the restaurant. This raw yet sleek finish complements the vineyards and helps to create a soothing natural environment. Here, diners feel relaxed and comfortable. Wooden dining chairs with black cushioned seating have been used. These have an armchair-like style and add extra comfort to the space.
The use of metallic light fittings suspended at various heights further elevates the space and adds intrigue. However, thanks to the spaced-out layout of the tables, this disarray doesn’t make the restaurant feel cluttered. Instead, it still feels open and calming, a far cry from the bustle of Lisbon only an hour away.
Casa de Sao Lourenco, PORTUGAL
Another Portuguese hotel that offers incredible restaurant design ideas is the Casa de Sao Lourenco. The location of this hotel is paramount in its design. Situated on the top of the highest mountain range in Continental Portugal, its panoramic views are worked into the design. In the restaurant, designer Maria Keil installed huge floor-to-ceiling glass panels that take over the walls. This enables diners to enjoy the stunning and serene glacier valleys sitting 4000 feet below while tucking into their food.
Combined with glass walls, Keil has used minimalistic black furniture that doesn’t distract guests from the views outside. This makes for a very modern space. However, suspended from the ceiling of the restaurant is a beautiful orange floral display. This adds a unique texture and a softness to the room, while the orange color used adds warmth and contrast from the outside views. The effect is as if there is an overhead canopy, helping diners to feel connected with nature.
Le Pristine, BELGIUM
Celebrity chef Sergio Herman opened a new restaurant in Copenhagen in 2020. This is the next place we are visiting for restaurant design ideas. Despite being a new dining space, the design team Space Copenhagen kept the building’s raw elements exposed. Within the restaurant, there are large areas of patchy brick walls and worn concrete. By working these features into the design rather than covering them, the space has historic reference and an authentic feel.
Going hand-in-hand with these materials, the designers selected a dark muted color palette. You’ll see the use of musty green, black, greys, and other colors found in Flemish artwork. Paired with black dining chairs and smoke-oak wood tables and furnishings, the interior is warming yet moody.
El Nacional, SPAIN
The El Nacional in Barcelona is a multi-food group of restaurants located in a former modernist garage. What we love about this space is that design team Lazaro Rosa-Violan uses decorative elements from the same area of Spain that the cuisine served at the restaurant comes from. By doing so, the food and interior are connected as one. Each restaurant has its own unique design, but all work seamlessly as one, offering multiple restaurant design ideas.
Our favorite in El Nacional is La Llotja. This is an excellent fish restaurant where guests can choose fresh fish from their market that can be prepared using five cooking methods. However, you’ll know this before even looking at the menu. Suspended overhead is a giant fish made from woven wicker. This is positioned over rows of dark sea blue spheres that echo the ocean. Not only does this offer a striking entry for diners, but tells them what the restaurant is about in a glance. Below this feature, the design team has used deep red seats that contrast from the blue bubbles. The overall result is an innovative and memorable restaurant interior.
