Wine culture and Tuscany heritage played a key role in the overall design of the Italian restaurant in London, co-owned by the Italian family Frescobaldi.
Frescobaldi Ristorante is an Italian restaurant in London designed by Autoban. Approaching each project as storytellers, the studio followed an inductive method in creating the interior design concept of the restaurant, fusing various components associated with the project in contemporary harmony. Since the restaurant is co-owned by the Italian family Frescobaldi who are rooted in wine business, the family’s firm relationship with wine culture and Tuscany heritage played a key role in the overall design.
Imagining the space as the private dining room of the family, Autoban carried the Frescobaldi DNA all throughout the two-storied restaurant, with strong references to the history of the family and wine culture in general. All these key references are deciphered in a contemporary way - Autoban kept in mind that the restaurant is based in London, the world’s current capital of culinary culture - without diminishing the warmth of Italian hospitality.
There are hints of Italian culinary culture everywhere - from the layered ceramic tiles and wooden panels that form the surrounding interior shell of the restaurant, to the hand-painted drawings on the ceramic tiles depicting stories related to wine culture in Italy. Walls are also lined with framed pictures, all of which fuse the joyous spirit of Italian food culture into the space.
While floor-to-ceiling wooden panels enhance the ‘grandioso’ effect created by the double-height ceilings, the large bookcase on the ground floor supports the idea that you are indeed in a private dining room that is lived in. The entire furniture and lighting fixtures are custom-designed by Autoban, including solid oak tables and wood-leather mix chairs that are spacious enough to provide the utmost comfort and encourage long dinners.
On both levels the flooring (terrazzo on the ground floor and parquet flooring on the basement level) is kept as is (the venue was formerly occupied by another restaurant) and restored to the highest quality. The ground floor is more fine-dining with a large wine cellar. The basement floor is reserved for casual dining with a fireplace and bar.
Total area 250 sqm Client Good Food Society + Frescobaldi Interior design Autoban Project team Seyhan Özdemir, Sefer Çağlar / Hani Troudi, Zeynep Akten, Duygu Yılmaz, Müge Çakır, Kerim Özkan Photography Adrian Houston
