A love affair between a New York cocktail bar and French brasserie, told in Dubai's vibrant gastronomy scene.
Combining the venues original raw concrete and hard surfaces with soft luxurious materials, the restaurant celebrates the buildings structure through the exposure of brutalist features, whilst softening and refining with plants and fabrics. Blush velvets and dramatic silver drapes come to play with walnut panelling and Rosso Levanto marble. The venue balances an arresting suspended bar as you enter, leading to an intimate dining area, private dining room and al fresco terrace.

Brief & Design Solution
Situated in City Walk, Dubai, the restaurant is a conversion of a clothing shop targeting affluent professionals and social butterflies. The space contained many brutalist features; vast glazing panels and concrete pillars, and an expansive 6m ceiling - all typically hidden and fabricated over by tenants. Sustainability was critical - using reclaimed and refurbished flooring, furniture and kitchen equipment from a venue the owners had recently closed. The space is dressed and divided with fabric panels and modular furniture to soften the rawness, dampen acoustics and avoid building waste.

Cultural Context
Dubai has a thriving gastronomy scene, with 2.3 x more restaurants per capita than London. The Emirate often use concrete, steel and glass to build. Not seeing the beauty of these structure, the vast concrete spaces are often marbled and panelled by tenants, then ripped out and replaced by the next creating a waste cycle. RARE wanted to replace the shiny and new, with authentic and real.