DesignLSM creates raw, urban interior for new London restaurant
Taking inspiration from New York with an urban style full of raw finishes and detailed features, DesignLSM has completed the interior design of a new restaurant in Canary Wharf, London.
Chai Ki is seen as a development of owner Rohit Chugh’s existing Roti Chai restaurant, in Marylebone, London, which has also inspired the design of the new space.
The high ceilings of the new restaurant have allowed for the creation of a “visually arresting” interior, according to DesignLSM. Individual areas have been given their own character, but the company has worked to create visual harmony across the whole scheme. Small features, such as waiter stations modelled after Chai stands on the streets of India, offer a hint of the restaurant’s heritage.
Chai Ki’s entrance features a series of structural steels with an exposed timber joisted ceiling, while the lounge area contains high level seating, long tables and bespoke lighting features to create a moody atmosphere. The mezzanine dining level is enclosed with blackened steel and expanded metal balustrade and looks out on to the front boardwalk and into the bar.
Particularly noteworthy is the kitchen, which DesignLSM says has been treated as an “architectural intervention”. A concrete rendered block houses the kitchen in the centre of the restaurant, while a bespoke hot rolled steel, brass and oak staircase wraps around it.