Leave them open-mouthed
09/11/13 11:33 AM
Leave them open-mouthed
Raynah Coutinho , April 18th, 2013
BY RAYNAH COUTINHO
Come October this year, the Restaurant & Bar Design awards will host its fifth
edition – one of the signs that focused design for F&B hotspots is being taken
seriously. Interestingly, in what could be a display of India developing a focus and
gaining recognition in this area, the 2012 edition of the awards witnessed five Indian
restaurants getting shortlisted.
Owners have long since been gung-ho about elaborate, memorable, experiential
restaurant design. Operators often favoured more sensible, ROI-driven decisions. However, as social media gives a hotel’s local
diners the power of worldwide PR, it appears that everybody is in favour of investing in restaurant design.
Trends and trimmings
There was a time when restaurant design was perhaps about matching up or staying up-to-date but given that today, it is about
standing apart, anything goes so long as it is well differentiated in its market space. “When you’re speaking of a hotel design or
the property’s concept as a whole, timeless design is a positive but for restaurants, you will need to redesign every five years,”
says architect Ketan Jawdekar, of Studio K-7 Designs, explaining that keeping the space relevant to pop culture of a given time is
perhaps the best way to go. As of 2013, pop culture if translated into design would mean the resurgence of baroque-style
architecture; old-school feels reminiscent of the 80’s and anything steeped in outlandish ethnicity. “The use of metal to enhance a
grunge-chic look is very in. Glossy bright colours that add drama to a space also tend to boost the essence of the interiors.
Popular culture has always played an important role in design. These get reflected in the form of prints and art and installations.
Art and prints are being used liberally, today,” says architect Shabnam Gupta, of The Orange Lane.
“Game-changing and relevant are how owning companies demand their restaurants designed, besides of course, efficiency
finding its way to Indian shores due to the similarities that one can draw due to colours, textures, styling and overall ambience
between the two cultures and cuisines.
Nature is being drawn indoors and into restaurant design, according to Jawdekar. “People are increasingly starved of the
outdoors, resulting in a craving for natural elements. In some cases, there is a lot of abstracts created of natural elements –
water and fire being the most common,” he adds.
Rahul Makhija, F&B director, Alila Bangalore Hotel & Residence, says that being describable is a new add-on to the thoughtprocess in restaurant design. After all, if somebody is going to post a picture of your F&B joint or tweet about you, you had better
fit into a single frame or sentence. “Balancing act is the key here. Too many colours in your decor, too many styles of fixtures and
furniture, and menu items that represent too many styles of cuisine, your customers find it harder to describe and recommend
you,” he says.
Logic and logistics
Of course, common sense dictates that a restaurant’s design will be linked to its theme or name. But that’s not to say that one
cannot achieve something out of the ordinary. For instance, at the 2012 Restaurant and Bar Design Awards, USA-based
restaurant Dishoom Chowpatty paved a new path in design for Indian restaurants in the country with a very rustic design, quirky
installations and hilarious signboards. None of it actually spells out either Indian food or Chowpatty, but any diner would very
easily get the essence of India. This rather unusual concept of themed design that isn’t quite spot on, seems to be creating
ripples “While country specific cuisines are always making their way into restaurants, lots of chefs are also creating new eclectic
cuisines to suit the audience’s food preferences. If the cuisine is an important part of the design brief, then the interior designer
designs accordingly. But very often, clients don’t want the interiors of a space to reflect what kind of cuisine is served in the
restaurant,” Gupta says. Jawdekar gives a fine example: “A Chinese restaurant’s design brief no longer means that the
restaurant’s colour scheme will be dominated by red.”
“There are times when you see suddenly the entire venue transforms into a provincial museum of the identified cuisine or at
times you walk it a restaurant and it’s a regional fair while trying to depict a precise cuisine, most often than not this happens
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Leave them open-mouthed
09/11/13 11:33 AM
when an operator/designer starts to state the obvious,” Malik says.
While design and decor are all very well, the fact is that all of this creative genius goes towards creating only the ambience for,
very simply, business of F&B. And as such, dining trends must be kept in mind while designing these spaces. “With everyone
around us leading fast paced lives in metros mostly, people prefer heavy finger foods accompanied by alcohol at bars instead of a
proper formal fine dining experience,” Gupta tells us. Jawdekar adds that the trend is moving towards plated meals: “All of this
means that the size of tables will change. You will need fewer serving bowls and dishes within reach of the diner.”
Fit or fail?
The big question for decision-makers is why invest in design? How much makes for a reasonable investment and a mind-boggling
one: what design will work best for my brand? Malik spells it out in a nutshell, with examples. “W hotels and their venues are a
great example of fashion-inspired designs in restaurants. If an individual is a keen follower of fashion and trends then the
chances are pretty high that he or she would be more attracted towards fashion inspired F&B destinations.
Art is another theme that inspires hotel and restaurant designs and Le Meridien hotels and venues are another example of such
kind of reference,” he says. Answers to questions like what is my audience’s lifestyle and sense of aesthetics (yes, business
travellers have those too!) will go a long way in creating an appropriate design brief.
Battle budget burdens
Given that the Union Budget 2013-14 retains the “All AC restaurants and cafes more than 2000 sq ft to pay service tax” rule,
hoteliers will need to revisit cooling concepts and technologies – if your AC bills were not reason enough. “Mist-fans have not
been explored enough,” says Jawdekar. Gupta adds that the best way to keep a space naturally cool and ventilated is by making
provision for lots of landscape. “Spaces which are well cross-ventilated should be designed without disturbing the free flowing
supply air. Leaving the ceiling open to sky is also an option,” she says. Malik and Makhija suggest that while buffets have to be
indoor and air-conditioned, there could be intelligent division of seating areas partially for both.
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