Striped flooring: For an al fresco feel, planks stained in different tones mimic the soft, slightly weathered look of a patio deck. A pitched glazed roof is strung with chunky outdoor lighting for a dining en plein air effect.
Decorating & Design
July 16, 2019
These Are The Instagram-Worthy Restaurants Inspiring Us Right Now
It’s no secret that restaurants are often on the cutting edge of design: long before trends shake down to residential spaces they pop up in commercial venues. Eateries with big budgets and top designers at their disposal are eager to create buzzy, welcoming environments where guests want to linger. Here are statement-making destinations embracing design trends that are sure to inspire.
Black and white: Yorkville’s plant-based eatery, Planta, designed by East Studio, harnesses the old school glamour of Dorothy Draper with a high-contrast black and white checkered floor. A mix of graphic wall tiles and upholstery look crisp.
Photographer: Elaine Fancy
Source: Planta
Designer: East Studio
Palm prints: When the restaurant’s name is Planta, elevating foliage to an art form is de rigeur. Though the Martinique wallpaper in the Beverly Hills Hotel is an enduring classic, this tropical leaf-print wallpaper is given a new twist with a custom design by Candice Kaye.
Photographer: Elaine Fancy
Source: Planta
Designer: East Studio
Plants as art: From the hand-painted mural by Tisha Myles to the niches filled with uplit arrangements and table top containers, plants are life forms that double as sculptures.
Photographer: Elaine Fancy
Source: Planta
Designer: East Studio
Major murals: In the iconic London nightclub, Annabel’s, a hand-painted mural by artist Gary Myatt — depicting an English country garden brimming with birds and animals — sets the scene in The Rose Room. Stockholm-born designer Martin Brudnizki created huge buzz for this highly imaginative, fantastical take on English eccentricity and gardens.
Photographer: James McDonald
Source: Annabel's
Designer: Martin Brudnizki
Lush patterns: Martin dressed the metal terrace chairs in The Garden in colorful animal print fabric, embellished by tassels and pompoms for a playful effect. Mature trees and bountiful plants recreate the ambience of an orangerie, once the norm in grand Georgian properties like Annabel’s.
Photographer: James McDonald
Source: Annabel's
Designer: Martin Brudnizki
Scenic wallpaper: The Elephant Room on the main floor has an elaborate Asian-inspired carved timber howdah, but it’s the jungle motif De Gournay wallpaper that’s really transportive.
Photographer: James McDonald
Source: Annabel's
Designer: Martin Brudnizki
Plush pink: Martin pulls out all the stops in the boudoir-like powder room, an homage to the power of pink. Shell-shaped pink onyx basins, a pink marble floor, embroidered Pierre Frey fabrics on the walls and a tented velvet ceiling festooned with handmade silk peonies is a layered, nostalgic take on this feminine enclave.
Photographer: James McDonald
Source: Annabel's
Designer: Martin Brudnizki
Maxed out mouldings: “I wanted the space to feel like you were walking into a decadent macaroon in the kind of shade you might expect to see or eat,” says designer Tiffany Pratt of Café Cancan in Toronto. Panelled walls and brick texture provides plenty of textural interest. Applied mouldings, inset mirrors and a coffered ceiling gives this new restaurant a sense of grandeur and history.
Photographer: Nikki Leigh McKean
Source: Café Cancan
Designer: Tiffany Pratt
Terrazzo flooring: Terrazzo is a huge trend, and this version appears to be candy-flecked, which accents the lighthearted cotton-candy pink walls.
Photographer: Nikki Leigh McKean
Source: Café Cancan
Designer: Tiffany Pratt
Teal accents: In the Old Montreal vegan eatery, LOV Restaurant, teal lamps are a refreshing hit of color on the marble bar. Architects Jacinthe Piotte and Jean-Pierre Viau chose recycled and handmade materials to create an environment that reflects the values of the plant-based menu, which is local and natural.
Photographer: Patricia Brochu
Source: LOV Restaurant
Designer: Jacinthe Piotte and Jean-Pierre Viau
Suspended furniture: A hanging chair is a carefree touch, and the white painted bamboo frame and palm-print cushion make this corner of the restaurant feel like summer all year long.
Photographer: Patricia Brochu
Source: LOV Restaurant
Designer: Jacinthe Piotte and Jean-Pierre Viau
Mixed upholstery: A bench cushion upholstered in palm prints is contrasted by the banquette’s solid fabric. Terrariums filled with potted plants drive home the garden vibe.
Photographer: Patricia Brochu
Source: LOV Restaurant
Designer: Jacinthe Piotte and Jean-Pierre Viau
Tiled floor: Drake One Fifty in Toronto’s financial district is the brainchild of The Drake Hotel mastermind Jeff Stober. Designer Martin Brudnizki selected geometric cement floor tiles from Morocco to establish an eclectic feel and paired it with mid-century-inspired design touches.
Photographer: James McDonald
Source: Drake One Fifty
Designer: Martin Brudnizki
Steel-frame windows: To add industrial character and contrast the sinuous 60-foot marble bar, Martin picked graphic steel-framed windows and fire-treated cork ceilings.
Photographer: James McDonald
Source: Drake One Fifty
Designer: Martin Brudnizki
Original art: Several artworks and installations by artists such as Douglas Coupland (who contributes a candy-colored mural) and Micah Lexier give the restaurant a unique, gallery-like atmosphere.
Photographer: James McDonald
Source: Drake One Fifty
Designer: Martin Brudnizki
Color-blocked walls: The pastel walls of Calgary’s Calcutta Cricket Club, look authentically sunbleached and are adorned by a collection of late 19th- and early 20th-century prints of distinguished cricket players. Designed by artist Maya Gohill (and professed Wes Anderson enthusiast), the restaurant has won multiple awards for its cuisine, but it also scooped up the 2018 Award for Best New Restaurant Design. Maya mixed references from her own South Asian upbringing with Western pop culture.
Photographer: Courtesy of Calcutta Cricket Club
Source: Calcutta Cricket Club
Designer: Maya Gohill
Quirky finds: Maya furnished the restaurant with one-off purchases sourced from eBay and Kijiji. Gary — the carousel leopard suspended over the bar — is a conversation starter for diners.
Photographer: Courtesy of Calcutta Cricket Club
Source: Calcutta Cricket Club
Designer: Maya Gohill
Wovens: Rattan screens, bar stools and woven light fixtures are semi-tropical touches that nod to the restaurant’s name and West Bengal cuisine. Maya describes the decor as a 1960’s Indian social club meets The Golden Girls.
Photographer: Courtesy of Calcutta Cricket Club
Source: Calcutta Cricket Club
Designer: Maya Gohill
Mixed tile: The base of the bar is decorated with three different kinds of brightly-patterned Moroccan tiles. Other tropical motifs include stools cast from pale bamboo, leaf-print cushions and palm tree wallpaper.
Photographer: Courtesy of Calcutta Cricket Club
Source: Calcutta Cricket Club
Designer: Maya Gohill
Vintage prints: Overblown ’50s-inspired glazed chintz tablecloths in a combination of vibrant hues enlivens the terrace. Woven bistro chairs are a classic French touch.
Photographer: Courtesy of Calcutta Cricket Club
Source: Calcutta Cricket Club
Designer: Maya Gohill
Blond wood: KŌST (a play on coast) is Studio Munge’s beach house style escape overlooking Lake Ontario. The chic rooftop restaurant seems miles from its actual location, the 44th floor of the Bisha Hotel in Toronto’s entertainment district. Light woods drive home a Cali surf shack vibe that matches the Baja-inspired menu.
Photographer: Brandon Barre
Source: KŌST
Designer: Studio Lunge
Mixed seating: A medley of dining chairs — peach-skin soft tub chairs, a slipcovered sofa and ’70s-style rattan loungers — riff on the beach resort theme.
Photographer: Brandon Barre
Source: KŌST
Designer: Studio Lunge
Free form lighting: Casual white pendants look breezy with relaxed draped cords.
Photographer: Maxime Bocken
Source: KŌST
Designer: Studio Lunge
Banquette seating: Banquettes max out every inch of space and create a clubby, luxurious effect in a dining room.
Photographer: Maxime Bocken
Source: KŌST
Designer: Studio Lunge
Watercolor walls: Located in the Pigalle neighborhood of Paris, Pink Mamma is a former hospital transformed into a four-floor resto, designed by Martin Brudnizki. On the top floor atrium, a wall in a painterly Impressionistic treatment recalls Monet’s works, heightened by the streams of natural light filtered through the glass roof.
Photographer: James McDonald
Source: Pink Mamma
Designer: Martin Brudnizki
Photographer: James McDonald
Source: Pink Mamma
Designer: Martin Brudnizki
Mixed tile and wood flooring: A custom encaustic tile adds pattern, forming a halo around the bar, which juxtaposes beautifully with wood planks in a medium stain.
Photographer: James McDonald
Source: Pink Mamma
Designer: Martin Brudnizki
Tonal wallpaper and wainscotting: Maison Selby is based in the Gooderham mansion, built in 1883 by one of Toronto’s most prominent families. Soft sage wainscotting is a subtle way to ground the pastoral mural which wraps around the room, underscoring the building’s historic mouldings, trim and stained glass.
Photographer: Rick O'Brien
Source: Maison Selby
Designer: Solid Design Creative
Velvet: Seats upholstered in channeled, lush green velvet upholstery are ultra luxe and equally comfortable.
Photographer: Rick O'Brien
Source: Maison Selby
Designer: Solid Design Creative
Herringbone floors: Dark-stained herringbone floors give Maison Selby an old-school European character to match the heady Victorian mural and panelling combo.
Photographer: Rick O'Brien
Source: Maison Selby
Designer: Solid Design Creative
Conservatory style: An abundance of windows flood this area with natural light. The conservatory vibe is heightened with marble wall tiles laid in a herringbone pattern, plants suspended from the ceiling and cane-back chairs.
Photographer: Rick O'Brien
Source: Maison Selby
Designer: Solid Design Creative
Brass feet: At Toronto eatery Coffee Oysters Champagne, warm brass is a natural companion for effervescent pink onyx walls and adds some heft to plush velvet-upholstered stools in a white finish.
Photographer: Sarjoun Faour
Source: Coffee Oysters Champagne
Designer: The Navigate Group
Penny tiles: These tiles are riding a crest of popularity, but a fresher take involves inlaying them with contrasting tiles to form patterns, letters or stripes to personalize and define an area.
Photographer: Sarjoun Faour
Source: Coffee Oysters Champagne
Designer: The Navigate Group
Low-back stools: Gem-toned velvet stools are kept purposely low-key so they don’t obscure the panelled bar’s dramatic stone countertop. A row of discreet brass hooks stands at the ready for purse duty.
Photographer: Sarjoun Faour
Source: Coffee Oysters Champagne
Designer: The Navigate Group
Channeled walls: Textured walls and channeling are both big trends. Here, the channeling continues down the velvet banquette to keep the effect seamless and create an enveloping, inviting perch.
Photographer: Sarjoun Faour
Source: Coffee Oysters Champagne
Designer: The Navigate Group
Author: Wendy Jacob