Creating Reality Out of Fantasies in Restaurant Design

Themes as concepts are much established as a key facet in the F&B industry. The mood is then often set around the concept, making eating-out an experience worth savouring.

The theme of a restaurant can be inspired by anything to everything like memories, heritage, the latest trends or more. A design, therefore, should cater to a consumer, serving not only the aesthetic but also to the social and psychological attributes. Hence, the décor and interior design aspect becomes predominant to create the perfect setting for complete customer experience.

The objective is to most often grant an unusual experience of an offbeat time or place to its customers by appealing to their senses and imagination. Creating reality out of fantasies, a creative theme brings uniqueness to the sphere, enabling the owners to use a distinguished identity to establish their brand. Branding has a profound impact on the restaurant, as it boasts of the restaurant's story, attracting the target market and making it stand out from its competitors.

The interior design, however, is a diverse yet complex system consisting of various aspects including furniture, lighting, colour scheme, spacing, and other design elements. Each one of these aspects has a major effect on how a restaurant brand will be conceived.

The furniture inside the dining or social spaces saliently determines its overall style. The right furniture palette can establish an exceptional dining experience which when clubbed with the appropriate aesthetics and music, enhances the gratification of the patronage. Since, colour perception is capable of evoking emotions, it too plays an important role in reflecting the theme of the restaurant.

Further, lighting aids to set the mood for a restaurant, as the level, colour and types of illumination makes the first impression on a diner’s mind. It contributes significantly in defining the atmosphere to be fashioned and now often makes for perfect Instagram-able moments! Mood lighting usually depicts calm and luxury, while natural lighting creates a brighter and more casual vibe.

We, at ivpartners, engage in a broad selection of projects, ranging from large-scale retail entertainment to luxury private houses. With an industry experience of more than twenty years in building ideas, taking up challenges & steering direction through the course, have led the practice to deliver recognized hospitality projects across the country. One of our prominent projects, located at BKC, the coveted corporate hub of Mumbai, Punjab Grill - a Gourmet Fine Dining holds a vantage corner in the landmark Capital building. Present amidst other dotting diners within the precinct, the design of this restaurant stands apart with its exclusive ambience that renders the design with flavours of Punjab.

The concept pertains to a contemporary classic recreation of authentic flavours from the ‘land of five rivers’. Redefining the spicy Punjab cuisine and crafting a new paradigm in the delicate dining experience, becomes the underlying perspective for the design composition. Inspiration has been drawn from traditional craftwork of Punjab, the “phulkari” & “jaali”, which are interpreted in flooring patterns and panelled walls, mounted with tile motifs forming an intrinsic milieu of the central dining spaces. The Punjab Grill at BKC is a sheer corollary of dynamic space design and well-poised intricate elements that present the patrons of food with a regal dining experience enumerated. All of these constitute the component of a well innumerate theme for the restaurant.

We believe that it is a designer’s responsibility to outline a concept to create a wholesome ambience always keeping in view the needs of target customers. The patron’s choice is affected by not just what’s on the menu but also by the mood and character infused into the restaurant by a befitting theme.