Longrain Tokyo is a modern Thai cuisine restaurant located on the 39th floor of Yebisu Garden Place Tower with a magnificent view of the endless Tokyo skyline. The 160 seat restaurant is the new outpost of an Australian dining institution known for its Australian take on Thai cuisine with venues in Sydney and Melbourne.

Charged with the responsibility of reimagining the stalwart our starting point was to capture the Australian casual style of dining represented in both Sydney and Melbourne venues and to link the three visually. We played with strong motifs that we identified within the Sydney and Melbourne venues. In Sydney, we were inspired by the cross bracing of the warehouse ceiling joists, and the ‘Woven Wall’ pattern. In Melbourne, it was the red brick of the heritage building, and the green fish scale tiles.

We have used a subtle ‘X’ symbol through the venue to not only reference the Australian warehouse framework, but to represent an intersection of cultures; Australian, Japanese and Thai.

Like its Australian sisters, there are mid-century modern references, with a subtle nod to the post-WW2 period when Western and traditional Japanese styles and techniques were mixed.