Sybarite has created an elegant, intimate dining experience for Beijing Kitchen at luxury department store SKP Xi'an in China. The restaurant's design and layout are inspired by Xi'an's streetscape and urban structure, as well as by the grids, symmetry, hierarchy and greenery of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Taking design cues from the original Beijing Kitchen at SKP Beijing, this new restaurant is a luxurious, warm and informal environment in which to enjoy the cooking of renowned chef Ku Chi Fai. Rather than competing with each other for the diners' attention, the food and the timeless design are in harmony in a restaurant with glazed openings to display the theatre kitchen.
"This is a big restaurant, so we wanted to create different moods throughout the space," Sybarite co-founder Torquil McIntosh said. "A contrasting combination of warm brass, small amounts of opulent onyx, and larger, brutalist concrete elements, creates a richer, more interesting and intimate environment."
Also enhancing the restaurant's intimate feel are the large, upholstered and teal-coloured acoustic discs which hang above each of the tables, absorbing sound and breaking up the space. Designed by the Sybarite team, the bespoke lighting creates pools of diffused or directional light, depending on both the time of day and the required atmosphere.
Inside the generously sized suites, diners can enjoy soft seating and tables designed by Sybarite. Instead of hanging art inside the suites, Sybarite has created its own compositions on the walls using neutral paper. Light washes across the paper, which has an effect like dropping ink into water. While all of the suites have magnificent views overlooking Xi'an's ancient city walls, one private room also has access to a roof terrace.
Photos: Courtesy of Sybarite