Covent Garden restaurant design

AFL have completed a Covent Garden restaurant design

The interior scheme is for the Thailand based company Singha, who have taken a number of A3 spaces in London with a view to launching a Thai-fusion restaurant chain.

View Architecture for London’s portfolio of recent projects.

This project is for the renovation of the ground and basement floors of a listed Georgian building in Covent Garden. The brief required a self-service takeaway counter at the front of the restaurant, with relaxed dining to the rear. The basement was to be converted to a cocktail lounge designed as a space to recline after a meal.

The interior seeks to contrast with the typical approach for Thai restaurants in London: a fresh, contemporary appearance is created with a palette of neutral tones and exposed natural materials. This project had many complex issues to resolve, including managing alterations to a listed building while working within the very tight programme required. Limited space in the restaurant also presented challenges in designing an efficient kitchen and serving solution.

The limited original character details that remain in the building are to be refurbished and integrated into the scheme. The space is finished with a new herringbone solid timber parquet floor. A large cork board map illustrates Singha cafes worldwide, and allows visitors to post polaroid images with their own travel route maps.

Project architect: Ben Ridley