Many of Poland's eateries compete in the race for the most interestingly arranged interior — a space that conveys the climate of the cuisine served, tells the story of the culture of the country from which the dishes are served, or by creating a place that, thanks to its photogenic nature, will attract crowds of Instagram users. The owners of a small restaurant in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz took a different approach — here the most important thing is to be what happens on the plate.
As restaurateurs, we value what is on the plate, the composition of flavors is the main pleasure for our guests, which is why we were so keen on simplicity and an interior in the style of Korean minimalism. The place we created is meant to be a kind of mind massage for our guests — say Magdalena Górska and Piotr Żelich, owners of XO Thai restaurant.
The interior of the Thai restaurant
photo: Hanna Połczyńska | kroniki studio
Knowing the taste of the investors, the author of the interior design, Ela Sawicka from em² studio, undertook to create the project according to the principle of 100 percent minimalism and zero waste.
The main inspiration for our project was the dishes that Piotr (the chef) serves at the Ryż restaurant, we knew that we would be able to experience similar compositions at XO, in this situation we decided to give them a warm bright setting of a minimalist calm interior — explains the designer.
minimalist restaurant interior
photo: Hanna Połczyńska | kroniki studio
The interior of the restaurant is small (30 square meters), and in order to optically enlarge its space, a solution was chosen — as befits a restaurant serving Taiwanese food — inspired by Thai street food, where food is prepared before the eyes of customers. So visually the kitchen was connected with the room, what's more, by introducing sliding windows, on warm days the premises can also be open to the street.
Above the bar, the designer placed a corrugated metal ceiling
Photo: Hanna Połczyńska | kroniki studio
Warm colors dominate the interior — part of the walls is covered with a dado of narrow, rectangular tiles in a beige shade, the same solution was used on the bar counter and the seating surrounding the room. The upper part of the walls and the ceiling are covered with structural clay plaster. Other elements of the interior — the floor, tables and lamps — are also beige. However, the variety of textures and shades ensures that such a narrow range of colors is not boring; rather, it creates a subtle, minimalist backdrop for the multicolored dishes.
The beige color is also used for furniture
Photo: Hanna Połczyńska | kroniki studio
The whole look is enhanced by well-thought-out accents — a corrugated sheet metal ceiling over the bar, which, as the author stresses, is supposed to refer to Asian street bars, designer chairs by Hung-Ming Chen and Chen-Yen Wei — Taiwanese designers — and a minimalist visual identity created by Maciej Czarnecki of Proper Marks.
