I have to be honest, I quickly browsed the short list (217 finalists) of the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards and my only criteria whilst quickly swiping through the images as if it was a tinder profile was “Would I feature this space on my Instagram feed”
Sadly the site has no search feature, I really wanted to see if any African, namely from the South had entered and or had been shortlisted.
The Restaurant & Bar Design Awards now in its eighth year is a globally recognized competition dedicated to the design of food and beverage spaces. This covers every imaginable space, from ships to airports, museums to burger vans, and from revered Michelin-starred establishments to the fleeting dynamism of pop-ups.
With over 5000 entries from the UK and 70 other countries in the past seven years, the Awards attract the world’s top designers, hospitality operators and judges. Recent names include Zaha Hadid, Kengo Kuma, Tom Dixon, Foster & Partners, Stephen Alden, Gordon Ramsay, Tony Chambers (Editor in Chief, Wallpaper*), Alberto Alessi, Thomas Heatherwick and many more.
Here are my top 10 Favorites-in no particular order:
As if plucked from the streets of Old Havana, Hotel Hugo’s Azul On The Rooftop channels a Cuban cantina vibe against the backdrop of magnificent 360-degree views of Lower Manhattan.
Azul (New York, United States), Outside Stonehill & Taylor
400 Rabbits (London, UK), London Restaurant | Richardson Studio & Junction Studio
Charlotte’s W5 (London, UK), Restaurant or Bar in a heritage building Charlotte’s Group
El Pinton (Seville, Spain), Europe Restaurant Lucas & Hernandez – GIL
Figo (Toronto, Canada), The Americas Restaurant
Studio Munge
Filthy Cow (Manchester, UK), Fast/Casual
Mystery
Garden (Broadbeach, Australia), Australia & Pacific Restaurant
DBI Design
Pitcher & Piano (Nottingham, UK), Multiple Bar or Club
Concorde BGW
Picnic (Pamplona, Spain), Europe Bar Design | Enrique Kahle & Michel Arauzo Arquitectura
Smalls (Melbourne, Australia), Australia & Pacific Bar | Fiona Lynch
As I said, there are over 200 beautifully decorated venues from across the globe so choosing 10 was no easy task, you may have chosen a few others so why not pop over and get some inspirasie!
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The 2016 Awards ceremony will be held at the Old Truman Brewery in London on the 29th September 2016.
