GOLD AND DELICIOUS
By the time you read this, the best, boldest and most beautiful restaurants and bars that have opened across the world in the last 12 months will have been declared champions at the 2016 Restaurant and Bar Design Awards. Here, we’ve cherry-picked five of our favourite venues from the UK shortlist (restaurantandbardesignawards.com).
1 THE PRINTING PRESS, EDINBURGH
In a majestic George Street townhouse, this grand bistro brings a touch of old-world dining to the Scottish capital thanks to its polished herringbone flooring, Art Deco-style chandeliers and decorative plasterwork. The restoration was overseen by design firm Goddard Littlefair, which explains the attention to detail and luxe finishes – it has also just revamped much of Scotland’s grande dame Gleneagles Hotel. Dishes are cooked with ingredients from ‘Scotland’s larder’ – think North Sea cod and citrusy sea buckthorn tart (printingpressedinburgh.co.uk).
2 TOOTOOMOO, LONDON
The wacky name alerts diners to the eccentric interior on view at the newest outpost of north London’s pioneering Pan Asian restaurant brand. Monochrome graphics line the walls, floors and tabletops in the bar area, but another section is pure crimson, including gloss walls and matching pendant lamps. Both areas feature palm trees and bamboo aplenty. Like the décor, which was masterminded by Kingston Lafferty Design, the menu is daring (tootomoo.co.uk).
3 GOURMET BURGER KITCHEN, CANTERBURY
Disproving the reputation chain restaurants have for being cookie-cutter replicas of more original venues is this wondrous burger joint. The menu won’t come as a surprise to GBK regulars, but the interior might: London design practice Moreno Masey has given the former cinema an overhaul, with reclaimed timber flooring, glossy tiled walls with marbled panels (pictured) and cosy leather banquettes ( gbk.co.uk).
4 WILDWOOD, PLYMOUTH
Architecture practice Gillespie Yunnie was asked to tread lightly on this Grade I-listed former military building in the Royal William Yard complex, which is slowly being restored. The result is a striking interior that puts the spotlight on rubble-stone walls, original timber trusses and worn paintwork, and makes a feature out of sturdy braced doors. Try the wild mushroom risotto or pop in to buy delicious locally sourced groceries from the attached deli (wildwoodrestaurants.co.uk).
5 ARCHIVE HOMESTORE & KITCHEN, RAMSGATE
Copenhagen or Kent? On the inside, this chalky-white pitch-roofed homeware shop and brasserie is pure Scandi, but step outside and you’ll see it is housed under a red brick Victorian archway in the coastal town of Ramsgate. Palest plywood cupboards and pendant lights hung from copper grids finish off the project by architecture firm Haptic, which, tellingly, has studios in both London and Oslo (archivehomestore.co.uk).