Top 10 restaurant interiors in the GCC
1 The Farm
Al Barari, Dubai
The newest entry in our roundup, situated in the lush green suburb of Al Barari, on the edge of Dubai, is a diamond in the rough.
The oasis-like hideaway is a contemporary culmination of comfy cream sofas, rustic wooden tables and clean, smooth surfaces. The main restaurant is serene, yet it’s the outdoor areas, which are being enclosed with clip-on glass walls for the summer months, that will win over diners.
Looking out onto the vast, landscaped gardens, which include herb gardens and waterways with ‘fire pits’ that glow red at night, there’s no more relaxing setting in Dubai. Hammocks offer day diners a place to read overlooking the water.
Inside the restaurant the space is open with little to break up the service kitchen and dining room, except a small deli retail area.
The pastry kitchen is on show, as well as the drinks station, allowing diners to watch the impressive homemade puddings and cookies being prepared.
“Earthy, fresh and clean” is what bosses describe the concept as, and the rustic fabric and textures, as well as the cool cream shades, make sure it is just that.
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2 Roberto's
DIFC, Dubai
We take a closer look at the newest Italian restaurant in Dubai in our Outlet 360° feature on page 52, but we couldn’t leave the vibrant new eatery off this list.
With indoor trees, a wooden decked floor and huge floor-to-ceiling windows, this contemporary restaurant is as far removed from your traditional Italian trattoria as possible. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t ooze charm.
Signature accents of purple, pink and orange – the shades that make up the eye-catching logo – add colour to the soft interior shades, and statement vases and lamps add interest to the vast, lofty restaurant.
The restaurant was designed to be a seamless space between indoors and outdoors, and consists of a dining room, lounge, bar and terrace area.
In the daytime these areas merge into each other to create a fluid dining space, but at night are made distinctive by lighting and a DJ in the bar.
The tables were one thing the owners sent back to the drawing board, asking for ones with one central leg, rather than four.
In true sociable Italian style, owners were concerned that if a party of people brought along extra guests, they wouldn’t be able to squeeze them on the table easily. The central legs means parties can now change size without spoiling the dynamic, or forcing anyone to sit with a table leg between their own!
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3 Siddharta Lounge by Buddha Bar
Grosvenor House, Dubai
The latest offering from George V Eatertainment and Buddha Bar Hotels and Resorts at Grosvenor House is Siddharta Lounge by Buddha Bar.
Best described as a trendy restaurant lounge with a swimming pool and a bar, the new venue, which opened in November 2011, follows the cool vibe of sister outlet Buddha Bar.
It was created by LW Design, with the inspiration coming from the idea of creating large pivot doors between the pool area and the restaurant, making the outside an integral part of the location.
It is decked out in pure white, off-white and shades of gold, with lighting and fabrics adding warmth to the modern space. The high stools and comfy booths make it the perfect destination venue to sit, lounge, or dance the night away.
The food is described as trendy comfort food with Asian touches – familiar dishes that guests will recognise, yet with special twists – and this is reflected in the trendy yet comfy design.
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4 Alfie’s by Dunhill
Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai
The third Dunhill restaurant after Alfie’s Shanghai and Alfie’s Hong Kong opened in Dubai in March 2012, joining the Ivy in offering classic English cuisine in a chic setting.
Masculine, elegant and contemporary are the three adjectives used to describe the 74-seat restaurant’s design – “an embodiment of the values of the House of Dunhill”.
Designers took the same approach to the restaurant as they did to designing the signature menswear products. All aspects are created to appeal to men, and the restaurant makes the most of the cool, soft shades of grey and brown that are present in the designer’s timeless menswear collection.
A modern mix of elegant textures and materials make up the interiors: hand-worked leather, combinations of chrome and brass, marble, lava stone, and reclaimed wood flooring.
And designers also made the most of popular brand textures, such as the ‘engine turn’ diamond cut pattern. The result is a restaurant that is a true extension of the brand – a lifestyle choice that hopes to attract Dubai’s suave crowd.
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5 Amador
Park Rotana, Abu Dhabi
The forward-thinking menu at Amador, which features dishes like virtual sushi, truffle lollipops and gin-tonic nitros, required a cutting-edge design to complete the experience.
LW Design stepped up to the job and put together a look for the restaurant, which features a sectioned dining area, oversized tapas bar and wine cellar.
Being the first restaurant in Abu Dhabi that came under the direction of a Michelin star chef, designers wanted to create something that would match the calibre and rarity of the food.
The result is an impressive space that combines traditional building features such as barrel vaults and beamed ceilings with contemporary, clean lines.
The designers took into account Juan’s Spanish heritage (he is a German national), and used cow hide and lettering inspired by cattle irons to create a statement wall. The curved bar, at which tapas and drinks are served, was created to look like a single piece of metal, to complement the clean lines of the restaurant.
It opened in February 2012.
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6 Make business hub
Dubai Marina, Dubai
Brainchild of young entrepreneur Leith Matthews, Make Business Hub, which opened in January 2012, is different to any other concept in the Middle East. The interiors may not smack of sophistication, but the design of the urban café concept is impressively innovative.
It follows popular concepts in London and New York that combine F&B offerings with working spaces to create a relaxed environment designed to stimulate ideas and connections in young professionals looking for somewhere other than the office or home to work.
The café is a clean, white, lofty urban space, with bespoke tables and chairs created by Hudson Design & Interiors.
Meeting ‘pods’ that you can hire by the hour are spacious and comfy, and the ‘kissing chairs’ with laptop tables allow you to sit and work next to a friend, exchanging ideas when needed.
With contemporary wooden and white finishes throughout, it’s surprisingly unsterile, broken up by bookshelves peppered with colourful hardbacks, while the exposed vents and pipes create industrial chic.
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7 Li Beirut
Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi
This high-end Lebanese restaurant, which opened on November 1, 2011, combines striking red furniture and tableware with a black and white background, creating a modern look to lift the traditional cuisine.
The design brief was to create a ‘unique, elegant and contemporary’ restaurant, and LW Design wanted to create a relaxed environment with understated opulence and historical references.
Rich textures help ensure that even though the colour palette is striking, the restaurant still has a warm ambiance.
The team added opulent accents to the ceilings with oversized lamps, bronze and charcoal effects, deep dark chocolate colours and gold leaves.
The walls are decorated with red and black lacquer as well as wallpaper that’s limited to certain areas and interspersed with bronze-finished screens.
The feeling of old-world Lebanon, along with its culture and history, is created with black-and-white art work that depicts classical Lebanese scenes.
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8 Three Sixty
The Torch, Doha
Three Sixty is Doha’s only revolving restaurant and the Torch’s signature outlet. It serves international cuisine offering a Mediterranean twist with Greek-, Italian- and Oriental-themed menus available, and advanced booking is a must.
Sunset high tea is served from 4pm to 6pm daily, and a live pianist performs during lunch and dinner sittings.
The restaurant tables follow the curves around the outside widows, meaning every guest has the perfect panoramic view of the city.
The retro chic furniture mixes cool olives and browns, with a warm yellow carpet to complement the natural colours outside.
The golden walls give the restaurant a subtle grandeur, as do the glass transparent chandeliers, and the grand piano, tucked away in the one corner, is the only accessory, chosen to complement rather than detract from the views.
An inner lounge area with huge bronze swivel chairs allow guests to relax and admire the views as they wait for their tables, and is partitioned by a simple sheer curtain.
At night, The Torch Doha exterior is illuminated by vibrant LED lights which create an eye-catching visual effect for passers-by.
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9 18
Hyatt Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi
Perhaps the most impressive thing about this restaurant, apart from the magnificent view you get across Abu Dhabi, is the fact that everything had to be brought up from the ground floor in an interior lift to the 18th floor.
Not only that, with the hotel leaning a record 18°, and the non-rectangular shape of the restaurant, a lot of the restaurant furniture had to be tailor-made inside the hotel.
The first component to be constructed was the glass shell structure, comprising thousands of unique panels of glass – there was no option to crane big, heavy items into the restaurants, as would usually be the case.
The dangling lights in the restaurant enhance its chic, modern design, and the Italian furniture adds to its suave European influence.
Three show kitchens with interactive counters add to the theatrical mise en scene of the restaurant, and the Molteni stove is rare and one of the main eye-catching attractions.
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10 STRATA
InterContinental Doha - The City, Qatar
Strata restaurant and lounge opened at the new InterContinental Doha The City on April 25, 2012.
The dining area of the highest lounge in Doha spans the 55th floor of the hotel, and is complemented by a comfy lounge and bar area upstairs. Staff worked closely with a Greek company called Glass Studio designing side plates, show plates and share plates.
The design brief, executed by McNally Design, was very simple: two things needed to stand out, the Doha Skyline and the food.
The concept was to use black as the main colour scheme, leaving the real decor to be provided by the lights of the city.
As a seafood restaurant and cocktail bar, only few select finishes were used to keep it as minimalist as possible: polished black marble, caviar-like textured wall paper, crystal and mosaic accents, and a backlit ice well.